Let me start this by saying I am not a Bible scholar and am in no way proclaiming to understand what heaven is really like. I don’t even know if the word “heaven” should be capitalized. But, since I am someone who loves to ponder the things not-of-this-world, and then talk about them, and ask questions about them, and maybe take a less-than-normal view of them… here I go:
From my research (okay, by “research” I mean looking in my Bible’s handy dandy concordance for verses about heaven) the things I do know about heaven are that it will have a city of pure gold that shines like fine jewels. There won’t be death, mourning, crying, or pain. There will be no sun or moon – God’s light will be enough. There will be no night. The city gates will never shut. No one will do anything impure or shameful. No thieves. There will be a tree of life producing fruit every month… and if you are thirsty, there are free drinks. We will have “treasures.” Our inheritance won’t perish, fade, or spoil. Moths won’t destroy our stuff. Our homes won’t be built by human hands. There is no curse there. (There is a whole lot more about thrones and freaky looking creatures and stuff... but I’m mainly focusing on the “heaven experience” for a human).
No pain – that is a good one. I’m really looking forward to this idea… I’m sure the whole “hanging out with God in an eternal like fashion” thing will be good... but I have no concept of that in my current skin/sin state... so, for now, I’m really looking forward to no more headaches. As a chronic headache sufferer for the last 28 years, I can REALLY appreciate the idea of no more pain.
I like that there is no cover charge for the drinks.
City of gold? Really, I think I’d prefer chocolate… but I can see how chocolate wouldn’t be as reliable a product as gold, so I can see why God chose gold over chocolate for construction purposes. I haven’t seen chocolate mentioned in any of the references to heaven and I gotta say, if there is no chocolate in heaven that will be a serious downer for me.
I like that our stuff won’t spoil or break… I recently had a dryer and two dvd players go out within like a week’s time and that was a total pain. If our stuff is just ongoing… we won’t have to shop… and I hate shopping so that works well for me.
If the gates are never shut (because there is no night), why even have the gates?
Am I gonna get one-on-one conversation time with Jesus? I’m looking forward to having some good conversations with Jesus…. I wonder if that can happen, what with all that singing and crown-laying-down going on. People like to say, “when I get to heaven _____ will be the first question I have for God” but maybe when we get to heaven we won’t have any questions at all… maybe we will just KNOW when we get there.
Can we fly? It isn’t in the bible that humans can fly…. but it does say we won’t die, so I suppose if we want to strap on some wings we made and jump off a tall building, that could work. So, if we fall off of a tall building in the golden city, do we land on our feet like a cat? Or bounce? Or just fall really hard but not die… like Superman? The idea of being a superhero type person is so cool. No need to save people from crimes like Superman, but it would still be fun to leap over tall buildings with no human body consequences to fear.
It says that people are wearing white robes. Is this mandatory? I don’t look good in white… I’d rather wear purple, black, or red. Do you think in heaven everyone looks good in white?
I wonder if we really will never get tired of the same songs of praise. I wonder what our “treasures in heaven” will be. Do you think we will each get a gift package when we enter? Will everyone have the same gift box or will they be customized to each individual person?
What is the thing you are most looking forward to in heaven? What is your biggest question about it? What is your quirkiest hope for heaven?
I don’t think I have all the answers about heaven….but it’s fun to think about...cuz, well…..it’s a process….
