What will Heaven be Like

The Bible tells us very little about what heaven will be like, but what it does tell us is exciting enough. Jesus spoke about the "kingdom of heaven." We enter that kingdom when we become God's children. We're then under his authority and care forever. As we trust and follow him, we can experience his love right here and now; and the Bible teaches us that when we, as God's children, die, we'll go to be with the Father. That place isn't really described in the Bible, but we know that we'll enter into the spiritual realm, where God is.

Jesus told us that he was going to prepare a special place for us, an awesome place where we can be with him:

"There are many rooms in my Father's house. If this were not true, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. If I go and do that, I will come back. And I will take you to be with me. Then you will also be where I am." (John 14:2-3)

That place Jesus is preparing is the place where we'll go with him after he returns to earth.

Other passages in the Bible teach that after the second coming of Jesus, God is going to remodel, and we'll receive an all-new heaven and earth. The book of Revelation talks about the phenomenal place this will be:

"I heard a loud voice from the throne. It said, "Now God makes his home with human beings. He will live with them. They will be his people. And God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or sadness. There will be no more crying or pain. Things are no longer the way they used to be." (Revelation 21:3-4)

Whether we're talking about the kingdom of heaven to which we belong now, or the place we'll go to when we die, or the realm we'll live in at the end of this age, the common elements are God's care and presence and our relationship with him. The scenery may change as we go from life to death and from one age to the next, but the ultimate privilage and joy of knowing God and experiencing his love will only get better and better as we draw closer to him. And we can trust that whatever God his in store for us will always be beyond our expectations.

The key features of heaven, then, are our relationship with God and our receiving his love, care, blessings, and goodness; features that start not after death but when we become God's children and begin the process of getting to know him daily.

When we talk to our children about heaven, we can tell them what a great place it will be, but the emphasis should always be on why it will be so phenomenal: heaven will be great because we'll be even more directly in God's presence and in his care. With that emphasis we can help our kids understand that they're citizens of heaven now. In the following verse, which is often quoted as talking about heaven, the Apostle Paul is talking about much more than the hereafter; he's talking about everything involved in being a Christian, from becoming God's child to the far reaches of eternity:

"It is written, "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has known what God has prepared for those who love him." (1 Corinthians 2:9)