My Dazzling Inheritance

 "Afflicted city, lashed by storms and not comforted, I will rebuild you with stones of turquoise, your foundations with lapis lazuli. I will make your battlements of rubies, your gates of sparkling jewels, and all your walls of precious stones." Isaiah 54: 11, 12

    In Mumbai, India, the hometown of my son-in-law, there is the second most expensive home in the world, after Buckingham Palace. Called "Antilla," its worth is $1 billion, it's 27 stories high and boasts of a 50-seat movie theatre, three helipads, a temple, a ballroom and even a room solely for ice cream. A staff of some six hundred people is required to maintain its affairs. 

    Though my readings of Antilla did not say, I would venture to guess the foundations of the home are composed of sensible concrete and, though I have no access to such a grand abode as that, the home I (and those whose names are written in the Lamb's Book of Life) stand to inherit has twelve foundations decorated with precious stones. 

    Revelation chapter 21 shares this grandiose description of the New Jerusalem:

"The wall was made of jasper and the city of pure gold, as pure as glass. The foundations of the city walls were decorated with every kind of precious stone. The first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald, the fifth onyx, the sixth ruby, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth turquoise, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst." (Revelation 21, 18-20)

    Out of curiosity, I looked up each gem on the internet and was duly dazzled by the smoky ambers, the regal purples, the brilliant blues and the smoldering tones of richest hues. When I see the Holy City, whose golden glamour will steal my breath, it will all pale in comparison to seeing the welcoming smile of the Owner of all, my Lord and my God! As all people cast their crowns at the foot of His throne while thousands upon thousands of angels raise praises, any memory of earthly treasure will never come to mind. 

    When the day seems gray and life becomes ho-hum, read about your future home. It will refresh you to "store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal."(Matthew 6:20)

"Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom He promised those who love Him?" James 2:5