Talking with a fellow brother after my local church gathering today the topic of heaven came up. He honestly said what many people feel even though they may not have the guts to say it. Sometimes we get this picture of heaven that makes it sound like a boring, dull place. To hear some people describe heaven, I am not surprised that they say, "Well, I kind of like earth."
Some people talk about heaven as if it is going to just be one big church service where we sit on clouds and play harps while wear what looks like white smocks. Now that does not sound like my idea of paradise. Who cares if there are streets of gold if there are no cars or horses to enjoy on them? What if you don't really like to sing? What if you connect with most through nature? Will there be majestic mountains in heaven? Will you be able to ski down the best runs in the universe? What if you like to build things with your hands and enjoy God through those kinds of activities? Will everyone be doing the same thing in heaven? Wouldn't that get old after a while?
When I think of heaven, I envision a place that has all the good things of earth without the bad stuff. Heaven is a place where there is joy, laughter, feasting, beauty, fulfillment, health, peace, purpose and the apparent glory of God. Heaven is a reality that we can't truly begin to grasp while we walk the earth. We can get a few glimpses of it. But any significant exposure to the glory of God would kill a man in the current state.
The question of heaven is important to how we live today. King Solomon wrote in the Bible that God wrote eternity on the hearts of men. And if we have a dim view of eternity, we will live just for the moment. There will be no real sense that what we do leaves a lasting impact.
At the national youth worker's conference in 2004, Rob Bell spoke about heaven. Rob is the teaching pastor at Mars Hill Bible Church in Grand Rapids, Mich. He is a respected voice in the emerging church movement. Rob challenged the traditional view of heaven as something that actually works against efforts to share the gospel. Many people think of heaven as a boring place because it is perfect instead of good. They think it is finished without need to do anything other than sit around and play a harp and sing.
Rob suggested that instead of a static, perfect place, heaven will resemble more a garden, which is a place full of life and opportunity. In heaven, we won’t know all things because that would make us God. Rob sees heaven as a state more reflecting the Garden of Eden, a place full of potential and teeming with life, not a boring, static, perfect place where we know everything and stop discovering, growing or becoming.
Rob suggested that whatever we love to do and makes us feel most alive will be what we do in heaven. Rob believes that we will have the opportunity in heaven to live out our dreams unfettered by doubt, fear, guilt, sin or a decaying body. We will not have to work. But we will get the opportunity to work and do things that allow us to be who God designed us to be. Time will fly by fast in heaven because we will be living the life we always wanted. The good news is that we can start to live that way now if we only believe and press through all the chains of this current reality.
Instead of merely accepting what has been passed down by the previous generation, we must take it and see if it is true. Does our tradition and theology mesh with God’s stated intention as outlined in the Bible? Rob suggested that we must start to look at the wizard behind the curtain. He called much of the fatalistic theology taught Americans today, “A depression masked with Bible verses.” It creates adults who get their ticket and just sit around waiting for the bus to arrive.
What do you believe about heaven? The answer to this question may very well impact how you live before getting there.
