By Adam B. Dooley
Baptist and Reflector
Do you have someone you hope to meet again in heaven?
Several friends and loved ones come to mind as I think about the place Jesus referred to as Paradise. Great-grandparents, grandparents, church members and a childhood hero that I admired are just a few of the friendly faces I cannot wait to see in eternity. The Puritan Richard Baxter, when speaking of heaven, remarked, “it much sweetens the thoughts of that place to me that there are such a multitude of my most dear and precious friends in Christ (who are there).” Indeed.
But will we remember our closest friends in heaven?
Will we still know one another?
A quick survey of biblical literature answers these questions with a resounding YES!
Consider, for example, that after Jesus’ resurrection from the dead all the disciples recognized Him (John 21:1–14). The man some have called Doubting Thomas was able to touch the wounds of the Lord after He was raised from the dead (John 20:24–29). On the Mount of Transfiguration, those closest to Jesus identified that Moses and Elijah were with the Lord (Luke 9:29–33). Furthermore, our forecasted gathering with God celebrates our reunion with fellow Christ followers as well. After telling us that the dead will rise first at the coming of the Lord (1 Thess. 4:16), the Apostle Paul explains that “we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them” (1 Thess. 4:17).
An expression
Clearly, it is scriptural and appropriate for us to look forward to seeing the people we love again. We are even told to “comfort one another with these words”
(1 Thess. 4:18). The blessing of our friendships doesn’t compete with the joy we will have in God, but it is an expression of it.
From here, more specific questions arise. For instance, will husbands and wives remain married in heaven? This question is as old as the Bible itself. On one occasion (Matt. 22:23–30), the Sadducees come to Jesus with a hypothetical question about a woman who had seven husbands who died. “In the resurrection,” they asked, “whose wife of the seven will she be” (Matt. 22:28)? Jesus answered, “You are mistaken, not understanding the Scriptures nor the power of God. For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage but are like angels in heaven” (Matt. 22:29–30).
People won’t be married to one another in heaven because God created marriage as a symbol of the relationship between Christ and the church. On this earth, husbands should depict a Christ-figure in the home through their sacrificial, servant leadership. In a similar way, wives should function as a picture of the church through their godly submission and support (Eph. 5:22–33). When our union with Christ is complete, the need for the symbol of marriage will disappear. This does not mean, however, that husbands and wives will have no recollection of their earthly marriages, nor that they will not remain close in heaven. In fact,
without the hindrance of sin our current relationships will only improve when we meet the Lord.
Similar principles apply to our familial relationships. We will remember our kinfolk in heaven, as well as our past friendships, but the number of our meaningful interactions will increase astronomically. Why? Because individual families will be replaced with one big family, and limited friendships will give way to universal friendships.
But how can we be sure?
On one occasion Jesus identified those who hear the word of God and do it as His mother and brothers (Luke 8:19–21). Another time Jesus promised brothers, sisters, mothers and children to anyone who sacrificed to follow Him (Mark 10:29–30). In other words, if you lack a family on this earth, God will give you one in eternity. If you enjoy your family now, He will make it even bigger one day!
Eternal bodies
Ever wondered how old our bodies will be when we get to heaven? Years ago, while pastoring in Chattanooga, I had a member of our church who was 107 years old. She said to me once, “Pastor, if God will just give me a 90-year-old body, I’ll be happy with that!”
Unfortunately, the Bible doesn’t answer this particular question. Because physical death is caused by sin, though, I tend to believe that our eternal bodies will mirror our peak physical existence. Theologian Jonathan Edwards once opined, “The heavenly inhabitants … remain in eternal youth.”
Letters to the Editor
Well, you nailed it again! What pragmatic perspectives you set forth about and within the educational arena with your Rashional Thoughts editorial in the Aug. 22 edition of The Alabama Baptist — “Our school teachers need us, and even the smallest effort helps.”
The dynamic angles from which you evaluate and instill helpful ideologies toward enhancing positive outcomes are arresting, to say the least. If only a handful of readers would adopt these guidelines, your Rashional Thoughts pitch would yield outcomes which could positively startle both teachers and students. Thanks for another compassionate contribution to the socio-academic chaos which could thereby be somewhat mitigated.
Morris Murray Jr.
Jasper, Alabama
Producer prays hearts are ignited
By Tracy Riggs Frontz
The Alabama Baptist
We have 400,000 churches in America. There are 100,000 children waiting to be adopted.
“The courts have already determined these children are not safe (in their homes of origin), and they’re just sitting in the system waiting for someone to step forward,” said Rebekah Weigel, writer and producer for the film “Sound of Hope: The Story of Possum Trot.”
“We could so easily clear out the foster system. It’s so doable,” Weigel said.
“Our prayer is that this film ignites the hearts of believers to step out in faith and obedience as (members of) Bennett Chapel did and bring these children into loving families.”
“Sound of Hope: The Story of Possum Trot” isn’t simply a film that Weigel and her husband, Joshua, wanted to make because it was inspirational or an interesting true story.
They are living it.
Even though they had personal experience with foster care and adoption, they moved their family from Los Angeles to deep east Texas and started going to church at Bennett Chapel and fellowshipping with them and the community.
As a bonus, because the funding was primarily through donations, they are able to give back most of the profits to help kids and families in crisis.
“What drew me to this story was how they did it together,” Weigel said.
“I have a deep desire to see the Church … bearing each other’s burdens. I think we’ve lost some of that.
“My hope is that not only does this movie eliminate the foster care crisis, but it also inspires people and churches to have deeper and stronger community.”
“I believe if we have leaders who are experts and who are people of integrity, that’s the way we can be salt and light in society,” said Rostyslav Semikov, a Ukraine-born Houston Baptist layman, who is seeking to help his homeland rebuild its health care system by offering young Ukrainian medical professionals continuing education opportunities in the United States.
“It’s not that I’m trying to fix them,” said Big Train pitching coach Craig Lopez, who noted his purpose as a coach reaches far beyond the baseball field. “I have been gifted to look at them and try to get their body to work the best that it can and … in the last seven years, teaching them the inside-outs of what it means to be a man in today’s society, and baseball is just my means of being able to do it.
“I’m going to be intentional to let people know that they are loved by Christ,” he also noted. “That’s my purpose: to know His love and share it from the inside out.”
“Satan left and Jesus entered into my body,” said Cedric Davis, an inmate at Bossier Parish Maximum Facility in Plain Dealing, Louisiana. The 45 year old — convicted for simple burglary — shared how he gained a permanent reprieve from a spiritual death sentence through choosing to follow Jesus Christ.
“I believe that every person on this earth is called by God and has a job to fill,” said Jack Tennison, who has built more than 6,000 pieces of furniture for ministries from Texas to Canada to Cuba, but at age 92 he’s now lost count. Still, he and others working with him keep building. He wants to help people “get on the tracks” to do whatever God calls them to do, whether or not it’s woodworking.
“What was wild in our upbringing is, if the Lord told [our father] to plant another church, they didn’t have the whole salary thing figured out,” said Caleb Ward, lead vocals for Consumed by Fire. “They just had faith. They were constantly, in our lives growing up, the ‘what if?’ We would think that XYZ is going to work out financially but we didn’t know. We would leap, and time after time, we would watch God come through.”
Pastors, an important part of caring for grieving people in your church is your ability and willingness to connect to your own sadness and grief. Only then can we “weep with those who weep.” We don’t fix people’s grief, but enter into it with them. That is true empathy.
Brian Croft
@PastorCroft on X
Sorrow and celebration can coexist. In one single day together. One month together. One season together.
So let yourself laugh today. Let yourself cry today. Let yourself enjoy trying something new. And let yourself sit with a memory of something you miss.
Lysa TerKeurst
@LysaTerKeurst on X
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