Revelation 21:21
And the twelve gates were twelve pearls; every several gate was of one pearl: and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass.

What a picture John is given here. The gates of the city are pearls, each gate made of one pearl. Then he looks down and sees the street itself, pure gold, shining with such clarity that it is like transparent glass. In one verse, the Lord takes what we prize most on earth and rearranges it completely.

The pearl especially catches my heart. Jesus said in Matthew 13:45 and 46:

Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls:
Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it.

That is what Jesus did for us. He gave all. He did not purchase us with silver or gold, but with His own blood. He laid down His life to redeem a people for Himself. And if the gates of the city are pearls, it is hard not to see in that a reminder of grace. A pearl begins as an irritation, something small, intrusive, unwelcome. Yet through a covering process, it becomes something beautiful. That sounds a lot like us. We were not lovely in ourselves. We were fallen, selfish, stubborn, and unclean. But the Lord covered us with His mercy, clothed us with His righteousness, and turned what was unworthy into something that will display His grace forever.

That means when heaven is entered, it is entered through a testimony of redemption. The gates themselves preach, if I may say it that way. They declare that those who belong there are there because of what Christ has done. We will never stroll into glory congratulating ourselves. We will enter through pearl gates, always remembering that we are trophies of grace.

Then John says the street of the city is pure gold, like transparent glass. On earth men kill for gold. They betray for it, hoard it, chase it, and measure power by it. The world has long lived by the rule that the one with the gold is the one who rules. But not there. In the New Jerusalem, gold is underfoot. What men treasure most highly now will be as ordinary there as pavement beneath our feet.

That puts this life in perspective. The things people build their lives around now will seem so small then. Status, possessions, recognition, wealth, all of it fades in the light of that city. The New Jerusalem will not be impressed with what this world applauds. Its streets are made of what earth fights over.

There is a needed lesson in that. Be careful what you assign great value to right now. If it cannot compare to Christ, it is not worth gripping too tightly. If it will one day be the equivalent of pavement, do not let it become your master today. Hold loosely what the world worships. Hold tightly to the Savior who gave everything to make you His own.

John is showing us more than architecture. He is showing us grace and perspective. The pearl says we are redeemed at great cost. The gold says earthly glory is not glory at all beside what God has prepared. One speaks of what Christ gave. The other speaks of how little this world finally amounts to.

And I think that is the quiet comfort in the passage. The Lord is taking irritating grains of sand and making pearls out of them. He is taking what men worship and paving streets with it. He is reversing everything sin taught us to value. In that city, grace will be admired above all, and Jesus will be treasured most.