7 Browley Street, Moss Vale NSW 10am Sunday Worship Service
Australia has a housing crisis. Tonight, on average, 44,000 homeless young people will sleep rough. Meanwhile Anglicare in Sydney reports, “almost 1 in 10 people aged 55 years and over supported through [our] Emergency Relief program are experiencing insecure housing including sleeping rough, in tents, couch surfing and using their family car as a form of shelter.”
Why, in a wealthy modern economy like Australia, is a widowed grandmother being forced out of her home to live on the streets? Yet this is happening. And why are rents so high? In 1960 less than 8% of our income was spent on housing – today it’s closer to 21% on average. And in the major capital cities it’s a lot higher e.g. in Sydney, it’s nearly 40%!
This is not the place to address the reasons we’re in such stress. But if you’re one of those many Australians struggling to cope then you should know this… God is aware of your situation. And, in the Bible, Jesus speaks of a future where God will provide permanent and free accommodation in heaven for all eternity.
2,000 years ago, at a time when things were even more uncertain than ours, Jesus told his followers,
“Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.” (John 14:1-3)
When Jesus speaks of heaven as a house, he’s reassuring us that God is well and truly able to look after us. His words are so enormously comforting. No matter how dire our situation is now – even if we’re on the street or worse, Jesus promises heavenly security and everlasting rest for those who trust in him. In this bright future God promises to let us live with him in close friendship and fellowship.
And not just in any old house. It will be a place where,
“He will wipe away every tear … there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” (Revelation 21:4)
You know that old real estate cliché about ‘Great potential’. Well that’s you and God. So, trust in Jesus now to secure your place.
Ian Brunton