20 Whom Will I See?
The one thing about which Marion worried as she approached the end of her life was that she would never again see her children. Marion loved them so deeply that she couldn’t imagine heaven being worthwhile if she never saw her children again. Marion felt that she would like to see her husband again, now years since his passing. Yet she could imagine a heaven that somehow kept them from recognizing one another or kept them apart. Marion also wanted to see her departed friends again and her parents, now decades gone. Marion even wanted to see her pets again, for the joy that they brought her. But she could imagine a heaven without pets or even familiar friends. Marion could not, though, imagine a heaven without her children. She prayed that they would join her in heaven and that when they did, they would once again be together as a family.
Question
One of the more-frequent questions one hears about the transcendent realm is whether we will see our loved ones on the other side. It is a fair question. On earth, our loved ones mean more than anything to us. Why shouldn’t they also mean much to us in heaven? The scriptures answer that question at least indirectly and perhaps directly, but also with substantial evidence. Christ’s transfiguration with Moses and Elijah, his account of the rich man and the poor beggar Lazarus, and his own resurrection that the disciples and hundreds of others witnessed, all support that we retain both our personal identity and the ability to recognize and interact with other familiar figures in the heavenly realm. Let the scriptures answer your questions. Consult your pastor and other trusted spiritual authorities. Your question is important. So is your answer.
Transformation
An earlier chapter has already addressed the transformed but personal nature of our resurrection in the grace of the Savior Christ. Christ’s own resurrection, the heavenly appearances and accounts of other familiar figures, king David’s anticipation of rejoining his departed infant in heaven, the apostle Paul’s description of our imperishable body, and other scriptures clearly depict our resurrected, divine bodies as personal and recognizable. Once you understand and appreciate your own eternal identity and nature, you should logically be able to embrace that you will recognize other familiar figures, including beloved family members, in heaven. That is, indeed, the customary and traditional view of heaven, depicted in innumerable accounts, writings, and dramatic representations down through the ages to the present. To hold otherwise is to go against the weight of experience and authority. Thus, consider yourself assured of seeing again anyone whom you wish to see who, like you, accepts Christ’s gracious, exquisite, and expensive invitation.
Lord
Expect, most of all, to see and know the Lord in heaven. How the Lord will present himself to you in heaven, whether as the sacrificed lamb or good shepherd, King of kings, Lord of lords, in molten metal or flaming fire, or as an ordinary-looking but perfectly powerful and loving person, is up to him. He may appear at different times and in different settings in all those guises and several others. How he appears to you may depend on what you need to see of him, when you first join him in heaven or later as you explore heaven’s riches. But expect to witness his glory, one way or another. Expect to see him as all powerful, ruling all creation. Expect also to see him as all loving, caring for all creation. Expect also to see him as all knowing, aware of your every thought. Look forward to recognizing the Lord for who and what he is, in his every unsurpassable dimension. His glory is the light of heaven. Let your anticipation of seeing the Lord and his glory give you the strength to complete your journey of transcendence.
Judgment
You may at the same time question how the Savior Christ will greet you, especially whether you will face his judgment. The faith you exhibited in your humble earthly confession of your need for him, in his sacrifice and resurrection, will have relieved you of any further judgment of whether you will gain your transcendence in heaven. He will not judge you unworthy of heaven. You will not face the great white throne judgment condemning the faithless in the end. Yet the scriptures describe a judgment of recognition, in which he may assign you heavenly positions, titles, roles, responsibilities, and rewards based on the heavenly character you displayed on earth. Rely on your good confession, and don’t fear further judgment other than recognition owing a good and faithful servant of the Lord.
Others
You may in the same breath wonder which of your family members, friends, and acquaintances who have already passed away, and which of those who have not yet passed away but will inevitably do so in the future, you will see in heaven. You will see in heaven all those who share your humble confession of the need for the Savior Christ and who accept his gracious and expensive invitation. You may know the confession of those around you and see evidence of it in their Christ-like character and love. Pray for those whose confession you have not heard and who do not appear to exhibit the associated godly character. Do not despair over others who passed away without your having heard of their confession or over those who have not yet made a confession before your own passing. Confessions can and do occur at the very last moments of life, when few others may hear of them. Continue in prayer, and continue your helpful witness, to your own end.
Lost
Whether or not you will know and recognize it in heaven, heaven will not include the lost, those who refused the Savior Christ’s gracious and expensive invitation. Do not, though, expect any sorrow or tears in heaven, even over lost loved ones. Whatever happens to those for whom you pray for salvation, you will not weep in heaven. We do not know how the Lord relieves us of concern for the lost, but perhaps you will not even recognize the absence of others from heaven. The Lord will have his own way of ensuring your heavenly peace. Do not let your hope for others interfere with your own assurance of your transcendence. Pray earnestly for others, but attend to yourself. Trust that the Lord knows what is right and good, and that his heart is that everyone receives their salvation.
Family
The above discussion reveals only some of the sound scriptural basis you have for expecting to see your faithful departed family members again. If your spouse predeceased you as a follower of the Savior Christ, you should confidently expect to be able to embrace your spouse again. Everything that your spouse’s presence meant to you will again be yours in heaven. The same would be true for parents, grandparents, and of course any children who predeceased you. Every confidence and joy that they brought you will again be yours in heaven. You should also expect that those who survive your passing and remain behind on earth will rejoin you following their own faithful and transcendent departure. Every delight that your grandchildren brought you on earth will again be your delight when they join you in heaven. Let your anticipation of seeing your beloved family members in heaven hearten, strengthen, and reassure you as you approach your transcendence.
Friends
You may also desire to see your friends in heaven. You have every same reason for expecting to do so, as you have for expecting to see your family members in heaven. We can at times be closer to friends even than family members. Or if not closer, we can at least enjoy them just as much or more. Remember that friend who always made you laugh when you were sad? Expect to laugh with them in heaven. Remember that friend who always made you feel good about yourself? Expect to feel good about yourself with that friend in heaven. Remember that friend whose beauty and poise seemed to lighten and brighten the air? Expect to feel the light and bright air with that friend in heaven. And remember that friend who took such great interest in you and listened to you so well that you felt as if the whole world knew and cared about you? You’ll feel the same way with that friend in heaven. Let your anticipation of seeing your friends in heaven lead you confidently forward on the last leg of your journey toward transcendence.
Pets
You may desire to see your pets again in heaven. The scriptures are not explicit about whether pets specifically or animals in general join us in heaven. Some theologians make arguments for it, while others make arguments against it. If you read those arguments, you may feel that the arguments for it are greater than the arguments against it are greater. After all, the scriptures tell us that God will make a new heaven and new earth where predators will rest peacefully with their prey. God loves all creation, not just his human images. Yet you may do better to put your confidence instead in the comfort and consolation of the Lord. Heaven will not lack anything you need or desire. If seeing your pets again is important to you, then rely on it. God will either grant you that desire or grant you something greater that makes that desire wane.
Places
You may also desire to see certain people again in their special places or to see special places for their own merit. You may alternatively wonder whether heaven will have special places to observe, enjoy, and explore, or if instead it will be a featureless expanse. The scriptures clearly represent heaven as having comprehensible, indeed wondrous, features. You may expect hills, valleys, rivers, lakes, trees, fruit, and other gorgeous terrain and vegetation. You may also expect streets, walls, and other wonderfully adorned artificial structures, even palaces. The Lord also assures that he has prepared a place for you in heaven, your own room or mansion. Who knows but that we may have the opportunity to construct our own home in heaven? If imagining your family members and friends in heaven, in a familiar place that you can call your own home, helps you anticipate heaven, then don’t hesitate in your anticipation. The Lord invites us to look heavenward, which will be greater than your greatest anticipation.
Time
You may also wonder how you will spend your time in heaven, in the presence of the Lord, your family members, and friends, in your own home among the realm’s other spectacular wonders. Heaven is eternal, suggesting that time isn’t as it is on earth. Time certainly isn’t short in heaven. You will have every opportunity to worship the Lord continually in heaven. That opportunity will not deprive you of, but will instead amplify, heaven’s other enjoyments. If you sing and shout over the Lord’s glory, doing so will not deprive you of luxuriating in the presence of your beloved family members, while exploring and enjoying the natural and artificial wonders of heaven. Time on earth is short. Time in heaven has no measure. Expect nothing to diminish your enjoyment of the Lord’s own realm and presence.
Reflection
Whom do you most want to see in heaven? How do you hope the Lord appears to you in heaven? How do you expect to appear and feel to yourself in heaven? Can you imagine your presence in heaven without sorrow or pain? With which of your family members do you most look forward to spending time in heaven? With which of your friends do you most look forward to spending time in heaven? What home do you imagine the Lord may have prepared for you in heaven? What activity would most engage you in heaven? What activity do you most hope to find available to you in heaven?
Key Points
Whom you will see and get to embrace in heaven is a good question.
The scriptures reveal our transformed but personal heavenly body.
Expect to be immediately in the Lord’s own presence in heaven.
Your faith in the Lord spares you the judgment that would bar heaven.
Pray for the lost, but don’t expect to despair the lost in heaven.
Anticipate having your faithful family members with you in heaven.
Anticipate having your faithful friends join you in heaven.
The scriptures are less clear about pets in heaven, but don’t worry.
Heaven has a special home for you of the Lord’s own making.
Heaven’s eternity spares you of any concern over activities.