A few years ago, my wife and I inherited the little house she grew up in near the beach in Southern California, and we decided to make it our home in retirement. So, we embarked on a big remodeling project. The house had seen better days and needed lots of repair work. But because we also wanted to have room for our kids and their families to visit, we added two bedrooms to make a total of four. Scattered among those rooms are three sets of bunkbeds to accommodate all the grandkids. And each of the bunks has its own corkboard mounted to the wall next to it so the little ones can use pushpins to hang their drawings or whatever they like to create a personalized space. We want them to know they were planned for, their presence is desired, and that within our house, each of them is at home.In John English versions of the Bible use the words mansions, rooms, or dwellings to translate the Lord’s description of this destination. But a more literal translation of the Greek would be something like a staying or abiding. Jesus was not saying his Father’s house contains a large number of individual suites. He wasn’t describing a place made up of many compartments. He was talking about an environment of belonging. He was using language that pointed toward the residing that happens in the Father’s residence. He was saying they would be at home in God’s house. He specifically avoided giving them details about the place – which they would have had no frame of reference to understand anyway – and focused their attention on what was most important: They would dwell with him.These words of comfort and promise were not meant exclusively for the handful of followers with him on that night of his betrayal. Set within the context of the whole of Scripture, it’s clear Jesus was speaking beyond them and that moment to all who would follow him throughout history. And that includes you and me. The Savior wants us to know that his salvation project has remodeled heaven to make room for us. We were planned for, our presence is desired, and within his house, each of us will be at home.