See
how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is
what we are! But the people who belong
to this world don’t recognize that we are God’s children because they don’t
know him. Dear
friends, we are already God’s children, but he has not yet shown us what we
will be like when Christ appears. But we
do know that we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is. And
all who have this eager expectation will keep themselves pure, just as he is
pure. 1 John 3:1-3(NLT)
George MacDonald was a great Scottish preacher of
another generation. He was asked one
time if we will recognize one another in Heaven; he responded:
Shall we be greater
fools in Paradise than we are here?[ii]
Randy Alcorn in Heaven poses this question as
a problem many people have with being able to recognize their loved ones at the
reunion. He says: What lies behind that question is Christoplatonism
and the false assumption that in Heaven we’ll be disembodied spirits who lose
our identities and memories. How does
someone recognize a spirit? [iii]
Plato was the philosopher who considered the body as
more of a liability than an asset.
Plato’s idea that we are much better off without these mortal bodies has
affected (and infected) many believer’s view of what it will be like to live
with God in the new heaven and earth.[iv]
There is no “memory wipe” even suggested in Scripture,
where we would forget what our loved ones look like, or that they would
forget. This is based on human
limitation to understand what heaven would be like, not sound theology.
What about evidence to the contrary such as Mary at
the tomb, and the two disciples on the Emmaus Road not recognizing Jesus? These are troubling, but certainly
explainable. Mary lived in a culture
where women did not make eye contact with men; she imagined it was the gardener. But the instant Jesus called her by name she
recognized him. Likewise, the Emmaus
Road disciples didn’t know Jesus at first, but there was a supernatural
intervention that kept them from recognizing him (Luke 24:16).
So, contrary to the troublesome ideas that we won’t
know each other in Heaven, let’s look at the Biblical evidence, starting from
John’s epistle that we will not only know each other; we are going
to know each other more deeply and completely than was ever possible here on earth!
1.
John says: We will be LIKE
Him
After last week’s service one of our church members, Marie
Cavaletto shared with me how someone had once told her there will be no babies
in heaven, that we would spend eternity like Jesus, at age 33. I’m not sure I like that…I did some pretty
dumb things at age 33!
Perhaps the person meant that since the Lord’s
ministry culminated at that age, we will be like that…fully matured, fruitful
and not elderly-weak, or childishly young.
I like to think that age won’t be a factor at all. Eternity will change a lot of our earthly
concepts, freeing us to understand that what we look like will not
matter, because what we are matters more than
anything.
That means, being like him will involve:
Gathering
Jesus appeared to more than 500 witnesses after the
resurrection(1 Corinthians 15). According
to John’s Gospel(John 21) Jesus cooked breakfast for his disciples,
and ate with them after the resurrection.
That means, with all due respect to Plato, the body Jesus had was real,
and therefore vital.
If we’re going to be like Him, we will also have
bodies, and not have to try to recognize which ghost used to be our
mother-in-law!
Remembering
When Jesus appeared to his followers the first time in
the upper room, Thomas was AWOL. The
next time Jesus offered his hands and side to the doubting disciple and told
him to check out the scars(John 20).
The fact that we are going to be like Jesus means we will retain
recognizable characteristics of our earthly bodies.
2.
John Says: We will SEE Him Like He Is
One huge mistake the people of Jesus’ day made was
failing to recognize God among them.
Mary at the tomb, and the Emmaus travelers didn’t
realize they were face to face with Almighty God. But in that day our eyes will be opened
The Book of Revelation says much about the unveiling
of Christ; in fact, the word “revelation” itself means to draw back the curtain.
Everything about our misconceptions of who Jesus is,
and what He is really like will clear away like a fog lifting in the
morning. We shall see Jesus without
limitation!
He
is Omnipresent
Omnipresence requires that a person is everywhere at
once. In the account of the transfiguration(Luke
9) Jesus took James, John, and Peter up to a place they couldn’t
describe. There they met (and
recognized) Moses and Elijah.
Scripture says Jesus’ whole appearance was otherworldly…transfigured
and different than anything they’d ever seen.
And the disciples recognized the two prophets who had died hundreds of
years before. They’d never so much as
seen a Facebook picture, yet they knew them.
Some scholars, professors and pastors I’ve known have
held that we will move at the speed of thought from one physical location to
another. I personally believe that’s too
tame; if we’re going to be like Jesus, I don’t think omnipresence is too much
of a stretch.
He
is Omniscient
Omniscience defined means knowing all there is to
know. This certainly includes knowing
and recognizing our loved ones.
But I believe there is much, much more to it than
that. I believe it means we will know as
God knows…omnisciently understanding in every way all the strengths, weaknesses,
joys, and sorrows our loved ones had and remember.
In heaven, because of knowing all there is to know
there will never be any kind of communication breakdown.
We will even understand ourselves perfectly!
He
is Omnipotent
Because God is omnipotent, all-powerful (which is
certainly going to be displayed at Armageddon), there will be the destruction
of sin, death, tears, sorrow….all things will be made new.
What’s so utterly inconceivable is the incredible
contrast between the Jesus of Bethlehem and the Lord of Heaven’s armies, who,
with the breath of his mouth, the Sword of judgment slays every enemy with a
single word.
We shall see that; and we shall share in that.
3.
John says: Knowing this
changes us
In our text John writes that everyone who has this
expectation…keeps himself pure.
With everything we will see and all the people we will
recognize and enjoy, as we gather and remember, in the joy of our omnipresent,
omniscient, and omnipotent Lord, who will transform us to be just like him…it
is no wonder Jesus took great pains to tell us to prepare.
And so, I ask you a much more pressing question than
whether you will know, recognize and remember anybody; that question is: will you be there to be
known, recognized and remembered?
In the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Amen!
Notes
[i]
Title image: Russell Brownworth, Thunder
Struck Ridge, Blue Ridge Parkway, 2006
[ii] Randy Alcorn quoting MacDonald in Heaven, (Carol Stream, Il, Tyndale House Publishers, 2004), p.345
[iv] Alcorn, paraphrased from
Appendix A, p.475
