Randy Alcorn
In Psalm 8:2, David says, “From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise” (quoted by Jesus in Matthew 21:16). The inclusion of infants is significant because they would not be conscious of giving praise; it would have to be something instinctive. So, although children are sinners who need to be saved, God may well have a just way to cover them with Christ’s blood so they go to Heaven when they die.
~ Randy Alcorn, [Heaven]
[Cinderella] had to live with a wicked stepmother and stepsisters, but when she went to the ball she met a prince. And even though she had to go back to her hard existence for a while, her life was never the same because her prince didn’t forget her. He came one day and took her away to his castle to be his bride. . . . Even while you are ironing clothes and scrubbing floors, the Prince named Jesus Christ is coming back to get you someday and take you to be with Him forever.
~ Tony Evans, [Tony Evans Speaks Out on Heaven and Hell]
Most of us would love to spend the evening with a great author, musician, artist, or head of state. God is the master artist who created the universe, the inventor of music, the author and main character of the unfolding drama of redemption. Head of state? He’s king of the entire universe. Yet if someone says, “I want to go to Heaven to be with God forever,” others wonder, Wouldn’t that be boring? What are we thinking?
~ Randy Alcorn, [Heaven]
Consider the old proverb, “Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die.” It assumes that the only earthly pleasures we’ll ever enjoy must be obtained now. As Christians, we should indeed eat, drink, and be merry—and also sacrifice, suffer, and die—all to the glory of God. In doing so, we’re preparing for an eternal life in which we will eat, drink, and be merry, but never again die. This present life, then, is not our last chance to eat, drink, and be merry—rather, it is the last time our eating, drinking, and merrymaking can be corrupted by sin, death, and the Curse.
~ Randy Alcorn, [Heaven]
As a child, I feared heaven would be boring. I missed the point of gold streets and pearly gates. As a 10-year-old, what I really liked doing most was playing baseball, collecting fossils, and hunting frogs.
In the years that followed, the deaths of family members and friends have changed the way I think about heaven. But I still have questions. What will we do after enjoying long embraces, tears of laughter, and catching up? My mind still locks up like an overloaded computer when I try to weigh imponderable questions about a hereafter that will last forever.
Ironically, what gives me the most peace of mind is not cutting loose my imagination, but rather learning to trust. I find rest in the thought that God doesn’t want us to know what He has planned for us. I wouldn’t be surprised to hear such a God say something like, “If I told you, I’d have to take you.” Or, based on the apostle Paul’s experience, “If I told you how good it’s going to be, I’d have to make life more difficult for you now.”
~ Mart De Haan, [Been Thinking About]
Joni [Eareckson Tada] tells of speaking to a class of mentally handicapped Christians. They thought it was great when she said she was going to get a new body. But then she added, “And you’re going to get new minds.” The class broke out in cheers and applause. They knew just what they wanted—new minds.
My body and mind, for the moment, may be relatively healthy. But as an insulin-dependent diabetic, I’ve known what it is for both my body and my mind to fail me. They suffer under the Curse enough that I too know just what I want—a new body and a new mind, without sin, suffering and incapacity. Every year that goes by, I long more to be a resurrected person and to live on the resurrected Earth, with my resurrected brothers and sisters, and above all, with my Lord—the resurrected Jesus.
~ Randy Alcorn, [Heaven]
Because we each have a physical body, we already have the single best reference point for envisioning a new body. It’s like the new upgrade of my word processing software. When I heard there was an upgrade available, I didn’t say, “I have no idea what it will be like.” I knew that for the most part it would be like the old program, only better. Sure, it has some new features that I didn’t expect, and I’m glad for them. But I certainly recognize it as the same program I’ve used for a decade.
Likewise, when we receive our resurrected bodies, we’ll no doubt have some welcome surprises—maybe even some new features (though no glitches or programming errors)—but we’ll certainly recognize our new bodies as being ours. God has given us working models to guide our imagination about what our new bodies will be like on the New Earth.
~ Randy Alcon, [Heaven]
