Kedo Peseyie
The common understanding of Heaven is that in Heaven we are going to be singing praises forever and ever. One worship leader even went as far as saying that we are going to be doing praise & worship there for eternity. If that is true, Heaven doesn’t sound too attractive to me. That leaves out a lot of the simple pleasures we take so much joy in, isn’t it? Like the joy of a baby, or the pleasure of drying our clothes in the warm sunlight, or the satisfaction of a job well done, or just simply enjoying a good book or a newspaper in the morning. Paul said now we see “through a glass darkly,” a poor reflection in a dim mirror (1 Cor. 13:12). But some day this dark glass will be removed and we will be able to see clearly and be able to enjoy the real meaning of being a human being created in the image of God. You see, the point is when the dark glass is removed, the view of Heaven is not going to change, it is going to become clearer. When that happens, I believe the things that give us pleasure in this world will make much more sense and give more pleasure.
Having said that, we also must admit that many things in Heaven will be clearly beyond our experience on earth. Paul reminds us that “no eyes have seen, nor ears heard, no mind has conceived” what God has prepared for us in Heaven. And so it is not wise to jump into some conclusion about Heaven. Even if we can come up with the most wonderful and glorious description of Heaven, it is still not going to do justice to what God has prepared for us in there. But it’s worth trying.
What is Heaven really like? I don’t really know. So where do we begin talking about something we don’t know so much about? The Bible talks about it as a real place and not as a place built on clouds and layers of air floating over the universe. The Bible uses language we can understand and imageries we can grasp with our finite minds, like for example, the architecture of heaven, according to Scripture, is rife with beautiful gems and precious stones (Rev. 21:18-21).
I believe what some of the theologians and scholars have written about Heaven and our preparation for this place makes a lot of sense. Dallas Willard says that Heaven and Hell are natural extensions of the way we live in this world. The person you become in this world will determine the kind of person you will be when you get to Heaven.
The Bible talks of Hell as Gehenna, a literal junk heap. Some people just cannot stand God in this life. They live their lives far from God. God would never force his love and presence on those who deliberately refuses to choose him. And so Hell would simply be a natural extension of the way they had lived their lives on earth.
I would be happy if Hell was not a part of the Christian teaching. There are many who find it very difficult to reconcile with the fact that Hell can really exist for humans who refuse Christ. I also wish that Hell was not true. But scripture clearly teaches it. If we look at Heaven and Hell as natural extensions of our lives on earth, it makes a look of sense.
Heaven too is a natural extension of the way we live on earth. If we have lived a very undisciplined life on earth, we would not be ready to face the responsibilities in the next age. Just as Adam and Eve were given responsibilities and duties to perform in the Garden of Eden before the Fall of Men, I believe we will also be given responsibilities and duties when we enter the pearly gates. Excuse this thought, but I would not feel greatly honoured, entertained and elevated if upon entering the pearly gates, St Peter hands me over a harp and instructs me to play “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot” for the rest of eternity.
We all feel very unwanted and unneeded if there is no work for us to do. A person may have a lot of wealth and property to feed generations of his children to come, but if he has no work and responsibilities, there is little meaning in living. Many young people feel frustrated because they cannot find a specific role or work to do in society. Work is part of our humanness which in turn is a part of the image of God in us. And there is definitely going to be work to do in Heaven. Dallas Willard gives some example of work in eternity like running a solar system, or taking charge of two galaxies, or taking care of the lighting system in one galaxy, etc.
I believe that Jesus’ parable about talents have a lot of relevance here. To the one who has more, more will be given, and to the person who has very little, even what he has will be taken away from him. People who have matured in their relationships with God are going to have a much better idea of how to run cities and galaxies with God. Those who have not matured in their relationship with God will have a lot of learning to do, and are going to have a hard time trying to catch up. How we live in this world makes a lot of difference. Christians who resign from this world and passively wait for the coming of the Lord may be disappointed to hear this. The responsibilities and status we will receive in Heaven will be based on the quality of work we have actually done for his glory here on earth.
There is also going to be lot of relationships in Heaven. Here again, I am sure the relationship skills we develop while on earth will make a lot of difference. There is a joke that says “To live above with the saints we love, O lord that would be glory. To live below with the saints we know, that’s another story”. We can’t just choose to despise everyone while on earth, and expect God to change us into angels and saints in the twinkling of an eye. Remember, to become angels is not our destiny. As for saints, the Bible says that we are already saints, not wannabe saints. We are displaced saints right now, but when we reach our rightful place, I hope we recognise it and feel at home in it.
Heaven is a real place and I believe that what we Christians consider to be real and to have value and meaning will continue to have value and meaning in eternity. And this will include not only the things we consider religious and spiritual, but everything that makes sense in relationship to God and His people.
Scripture clearly teaches that we will reign with God forever. And his standards are peace, righteousness, justice, honesty, joy, love, and faithfulness. If we are not familiar with these standards while on earth, I am afraid we are going to have a very hard time in heaven reigning with Him.
