Sometimes it is difficult to wrap our minds around this eternal destination called heaven.
What will it be like for us? Will it seem strange? Will it really feel like home? The mental pictures we conjure up seem so surreal, so mystical, so misty and foggy at times.
But there is nothing misty or foggy about heaven. The Bible presents heaven as a future destination, identifying it as a real place and a home that will be inexpressibly better than anything we are experiencing now. The Bible promises that in heaven, we will be given new bodies that will be strong and healthy, and we will never have to deal with pain or sorrow or fear again.
As I talk to people about our life in the presence of God, however, three or four questions invariably surface. You might call them down-to-earth questions about a beyond-the-earth realty.
Let’s consider one of these: Will we still be married in heaven? Some people would be very happy to think that there would be marriage in heaven. Others would not be so happy. So what’s the answer?
It’s really yes and no.
You will still have many of the relationships in heaven that you had on earth. Yes, you will be receiving a new body, made to last forever, and you will be relocating to heaven and ultimately to the new earth that God will establish. But that won’t erase history. No, it will culminate history.
But what about the marriage relationship? Actually Jesus was asked that very question by a group of religious leaders known as the Sadducees. Now this group of leaders, in contrast to the Pharisees, didn’t believe in the resurrection of the dead or life after death.
Maybe that’s where they got their name, because they were so sad … you see. It’s a pretty bleak outlook to have no hope of life beyond the grave. This group of Jewish leaders thought they would trap Jesus with a hypothetical situation they’d dreamed up (see Matt. 22:23-28).
With that question, these guys smugly supposed they had the Lord trapped, and He wouldn’t be able to answer. Jesus quickly put that idea to rest, however, with His response (See Matt. 22:29-30). So although you won’t be married to your spouse in heaven, you will be married to the Lord, because the Bible clearly describes us as the bride of Christ. When we go to heaven then, we will join our groom, and in that sense, there will be marriage on the other side.
The human institution of marriage culminates in heaven, and we will no longer be married in the technical sense. But that doesn’t mean our relationship will end. God’s plan for our lives doesn’t stop in heaven; it continues. God doesn’t abandon His purposes in heaven. He fulfills them. Therefore, friendships and relationships that have begun on earth will continue in heaven richer than ever.
Adapted from Signs of the Times by Greg Laurie, copyright 2018, published by Charisma House. The signs are unmistakable. Are you ready for what’s ahead? In this book, Greg Laurie opens the Scriptures and addresses hot-button topics, helping you make the most of every opportunity in light of what’s next. To order your copy, click on this link.
Prayer Power for the Week Beginning Feb. 24, 2019
This week, take another look at what God says about heaven and what awaits you, not as a fantasy, but as a reality yet to be experienced and a continuation of God’s plan for your eternal life. Continue to pray for the here and now regarding God’s will for you and your loved ones as well as your extended family, friends, church, community, state and national leaders. Unite with others of like mind to pray for unity and world-wide revival. Read: John 14:1-2, 1 Timothy 2:1-4, James 5:16.
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