Thoughts on Heaven

In the past year, I’ve thought about death, heaven and the next life more than I ever have before. Honestly, it’s become somewhat of an obsession. It’s been an emotional journey that has brought to the surface much pain and many tears … but it’s also been one of the most life-giving, inspiring and hope-filled experiences I’ve ever had.

When Jesus spoke to his followers of eternity in the Kingdom of Heaven, he wasn’t trying to cause fear or confusion, but rather provide reassurance, hope and comfort. After all, giving us access to heaven was the ultimate gift to us – it’s the reason why he endured a life and death full of pain and misery on earth.

But if you’re like me, all it takes is one sad song, one memory of a loved one who’s passed, or one question about eternity to usher in a flood of intense emotions and anxious thoughts. Why is that?

My theory is that it’s a combination of two things: the unknown is scary to us and our minds are much too limited to comprehend heaven’s splendor.

Fear of The Unknown

When Jesus described heaven in the gospels, he was speaking from firsthand experience. Before he was born as a baby in Bethlehem, heaven was his home for thousands of years.

But we humans don’t have that benefit. Most biblical descriptions of heaven sound foreign to us, unlike anything we’ve ever seen or imagined before. While there is a wealth of compelling testimonies from people who’ve had near-death experiences, there is no solid, tangible “proof” we can point to. We don’t know what to expect when we pass from this life into the next, and that uncertainty can instill fear that shakes us to our core.

It makes me think of “Doubting” Thomas the apostle when he simply could not believe Jesus was raised from the dead … until he put his hands in the wounds on Jesus’s side and his hands.

“Then he said to Thomas, ‘Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.’ Thomas said to him, ‘My Lord and my God!’ Then Jesus told him, ‘Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.’”
– John 20:27-29

We must count ourselves in the latter group – those who have not seen and yet have believed.

Limitations of the Human Mind

You know when you have an illogical fear about something like getting a shot, going to the dentist or giving a public speech? The more time you spend worrying and fretting about it, the worse it seems to be built up in your mind. But more times than not, once you finally bite the bullet and go through with it, you come to realize it wasn’t nearly as bad as you imagined it to be.

I believe this is a small-scale representation of how we’ll feel once we, as Christians saved by the blood of Jesus, cross over into paradise after we take our last breath. Of course, in the first example, you may spend a few weeks, months or years churning those fearful thoughts in your mind, but when it comes to death, those fears can fester for a lifetime. BUT I’m fairly certain that once we set our feet upon the grounds of paradise, our first thought will be something like “Why was I so nervous? I never want to be anywhere else but here.”

In addition to reviewing Bible passages that speak directly of heaven, I’ve found that listening to several near-death experience survivors’ accounts has helped to quell some of these fears in my own heart.

Contrary to what you might think, near-death experiences (NDE) are actually a legitimate field of psychiatric research that has existed for decades. The similarities between NDEs among vastly different demographics is simply astonishing – children, adults, Christians, atheists, people born blind, people who never heard the name “Jesus,” people who were raised in all different world religions, etc. – almost all of their stories have at least one thing in common.

They speak of an overwhelming sense of love directed toward them – love that you can fully see, hear and feel with an intensity you can’t describe. In fact, many NDE survivors explain that there are certain things they experienced that they simply can’t speak of at all because there are no human words for it.

In 1 Corinthians 13:12, Paul describes the difference between experiencing earth and experiencing heaven when he writes, “For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known.”

This verse just brings me so much peace and hope every time I read it. It also gives me a childlike excitement thinking about the day God pulls back the veil of eternity and reveals his thoughts and wonders.

What About Right Now?

I know that all of us will continue to struggle with the uncertainty of death in a variety of ways. I suppose that’s just part of the burden this fallen world puts on us. But I hope and pray that you will seek and find peace in the name of Jesus. If you feel compelled, do some research of you own – study your Bible, read books about heaven, and listen to music that awakens the part of you that longs for your true home.

If you’re wondering where to start, here are some resources that I’ve personally found helpful:

Bible Verses

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” – John 14:27

“Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him.” – 1 Thessalonians 4:13-14

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” – John 14:27

“He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” – Revelation 21:4

“But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.” – Philippians 3:20-21