Did you memorize the Twenty-third Psalm as a child in Sunday School? I did—probably when I was seven or eight-years-old. I appreciate all the Bible verses that we learned by heart in those days. They have stood me in good stead over the years as they rise up from my heart with comfort and encouragement whenever the road ahead gets rough.

At that early age, I could learn the words, but I had not had enough lifetime experience to understand the depth of the psalmist’s passion. Over the years, however, I have come to relate to one phrase or another as it speaks to my experience of the Divine. Today the final couplet grabs my attention. Knowing deep within that God’s goodness and mercy enfolds me day by day makes life a secure adventure, leaving no room for fear or anxiety. What precious grace! But the second line “I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever,” I see in a new light this Easter season. From the psalmist’s perspective “the house of the Lord” is Beth El—the house of God that the patriarch Jacob experienced in his dream (Gen. 28:11-19) so long ago. But today I read the line through the lens of resurrection. I hear Jesus tell his disciples: “In my Father’s house (Beth El) there are many dwelling places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also.” (Jn.14:2-3) It’s all about the Divine Presence, God’s love that will not let us go, neither here nor hereafter. Whether we are aware of it or not, we are dwelling in “the house of the Lord,” now and forever.