Read: 1 Corinthians 15:42-58
We shall also bear the image of the man of heaven. (v. 49)
I read an article about heaven the morning of the day my father died, having no idea how important that article would become by the end of the day. The author wrote about how the idea of heaven as a real place has fallen out of favor in some circles, but she insisted that given our many problems, from the pandemic to politics and everything in between, she needed heaven to be real because she needed to know “that a better world is not just possible but assured” (Christian Century, August 8, 2022).
Heaven is the ultimate Christian hope, yet the Bible actually doesn’t have much to say about heaven. That makes sense—none of the biblical writers could give a first-person account after all. One the other hand, the Bible does have a lot to say about resurrection because many of the New Testament writers were witnesses or were intimate with eyewitnesses of Jesus’ resurrection. Jesus’ resurrection is the foundation of biblical hope.
Our hope in Christ, which does wonderful things for us in this life, is not just for this life. Our hope is for eternal life. How this ultimately works is a mystery, but Paul pulls the curtain back enough in 1 Corinthians 15 to say that we who remain until Jesus returns won’t actually die but be transformed. When any of us lose a loved one or face death ourselves or contemplate the brokenness of this world, we need the hopeful reassurance that heaven is real. —Jeff Munroe
As you pray, imagine heaven.
About the Author
Jeff Munroe is the editor of the Reformed Journal and, in addition to being the author of the best-selling book Reading Buechner: Exploring the Work of a Master Memoirist, Novelist, Theologian, and Preacher, is also a poet, blogger, and essayist. His work has appeared in Christianity Today, The Christian Century, US Catholic, and The Reformed Journal.
