Heaven

So I just finished watching the movie "What Dreams May Come" with Robin Williams. I had heard about how it gave a very strange idea of what Heaven is like and I was interested to see how it depicted it. It was scary seeing how so much of the world pictures Heaven: as their own self-fulfillment without any kind of relationship with the God that created us. How disappointing that would be. In the movie, Heaven was very beautiful, but that was about the only part I agreed with.

I have been thinking a lot about Heaven over the last year and have come to learn very much about misconceptions some people have, and what it will actually be like. I became interested in the subject because honestly, Heaven scared me a little. I'm sure some of you know what I am talking about, but many, I hope, do not. I think that the first reason I used to be afraid of Heaven in some way was the idea of eternity...it just freaks me out. The idea of something continuing forever, and ever, and ever was too big for me to handle. I also fell victim to some of the misleading ideas about what Heaven is like. I had heard that it was a place where we would worship God forever. I love music and I love worshiping God, so that sounds pretty good. I had also heard that we would no longer have relationships with other people and would not even recognize others, since we will only need God. That seemed like it sort of stunk, but I assured myself that I would be happy about it once I got there. I had heard that we would float around in a purely spiritual place. I wasn't too sure about that one, but I didn't really know. I mean Heaven is "spiritual", right? I had even heard the argument that once we go to Heaven, we lose our identity, as we know it now, completely. I had heard all sorts of things from people and my conclusion was that I was surprised that any of the people who told me these things were really satisfied with that kind of eternity and were not longing for something more.

A book I read recently, Heaven by Randy Alcorn, has shown me, along with scripture, the errors in my understanding concerning Heaven. The exciting thing is that now that I understand more what Heaven will be like, I am overjoyed that I will be able to spend eternity in such a place.

Heaven is a Spiritual AND Physical Place:
One of the main points in the book I read was that Heaven has a very physical aspect to it. Revelation tells us that the New Jerusalem will come down on the New Earth and they will be one. There will be a new Heaven and a New Earth which we will rule over with Christ. Heaven is not just some spiritual reality or state of mind. Heaven will be a physical place where we will walk, talk, and have relationship with our Creator, Savior, and Friend. While the New Earth will no doubt be different in ways we cannot currently understand, it will be a New EARTH, meaning that it will be very much physical. Many Christians, I believe, are naturally opposed to this idea in a way because we are constantly told that "worldly" things are evil and we therefore conclude that there will be no "worldly", "Earthly", "physical" things in Heaven. We mistakenly focus on the fallen Earth as it is now, and not as God intended for it to be: a beautiful and perfect place for humans to live. In the New Earth, we will have physical bodies that will be made new when we are resurrected from the dead! There is nothing to be afraid of about that, but only to be excited about.

Relationships and Marriage:
I always hear that we will not have "relationships" with other people in Heaven, but I do not know where this idea comes from. One thing is for sure - it is NOT the Bible. While the ultimate joy in Heaven will come from our relationship with Christ, there is nothing to make us believe we will not also have relationships with each other. God has made us relational people and we have every reason to assume that when we are in Heaven, we will have ETERNITY to build relationships and have community with the rest of the body of Christ. Also, since we will be ruling over the new Heaven and Earth with Christ, I would assume that we will be required to have relationships with others as we do that. It is also true that we will not be given in marriage, since the Church's marriage to Christ will be the anticipated reality of the picture we painted of such in marriage on Earth, but I am sure we will not cease to know who we had relationships with beforehand. This is nothing to be sad about since we will not lose anything here, but only gain.

Our Personal Identity:
The thing that upsets me most is when I hear people talk about how we will not even have an identity in Heaven. This does not sound like a Christian view to me, but I have heard it from Christians before. This eastern idea implies that we will be absorbed somehow into a state in which we will be pure enough to be with God. The fact is, that if you are not aware of who you were on Earth, then YOU have not really gone to heaven. The whole point of salvation is that God accepts us, despite our sin, and allows us to have a relationship with Him for eternity. In order for us to experience God's grace and mercy, we MUST know the whole story when we are in Heaven so that we know the full extent of His love. Yes God will give us a new name and a new body, but it will only be a renewal of who we are, not an entirely different person. If you accept Christ as your Savior and give your life to Him, He is going to want to have a relationship with YOU, not some drone.

I hope that my random thoughts made some sense tonight, but if you disagree with anything I wrote, please comment and let me know. I am very aware that I do not have a great or perfect understanding of what Heaven will be like, but I am trying to prepare myself as much as I can for what it will be as I walk daily with my God towards that day. I am no longer afraid of what eternity will bring. I can hardly wait to experience all God has for me when I am finally with Him as it has always meant to be.