Heaven

But, as it is written,
“What no eye has seen, nor ear heard,
nor the heart of man imagined,
what God has prepared for those who love him”— (1 Corinthians 2:9 ESV)

There are few places in Scripture that give any real details about heaven to slake the insatiable curiosity of the mortal mind. Many passages seem to be meant more metaphorically than literally, as is the general case when Man attempts to interpret such things as prophecy literally while wading through the symbols, symbolism, and archetypes of a world long ago (the book of Isaiah was written about 2,700 years ago). And one of the most common New Testament passages written by Paul in his epistle to the church in Corinth about 1,950 years ago contains an allusion to heaven straight from Isaiah 64:4: But, as it is written,“What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him” (1 Corinthians 2:9 ESV).

In John's Gospel, Jesus is quoted as telling the disciples: In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? (John 14:2 ESV) But the most referred-to scriptural passages, often taken literally, are those found in Isaiah 65 about "new heavens and a new Earth" (in particular, verses 21-23, 25) and in the almost Oz-like description of a New Jerusalem in Revelation 21:9-21, a city of "pure gold, clear as glass." The truth is that we cannot fully grasp such a description (from a vision), so all that's left is the literal to debate with other mortals trying to understand God's place for us after this world. I agree with Luther's comment that "This is why natural reason cannot recognize it, even if it puts on all its glasses." (And I also agree with Luther that Revelation-- all of it-- is meant to be a book of comfort, rather than one of woe.)

So how do we make sense of this concept of heaven? Well, we don't. We focus, instead, on the main point, which Paul makes in Phillipians: But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself. (Philippians 3:20-21 ESV) The description of heaven in Revelation bears out that believers will be received by Christ in a place of divine glory-- does where or how really matter? No more darkness, no more pain, no more death...whatever the design. (And to be able to see God face to face? I can't even begin to fathom that...)

I'm posting this Sunday morning about heaven because last night we watched the film Miracles From Heaven (see the first post from yesterday). If you haven't read the book or seen the movie, spoiler alert...

The movie was actually pretty good, as the plot line of many faith films IMHO tend to be contrived and overly Baptist-y in theology. There was good acting, too-- the young actress in the main role and they guy who played her Boston doctor were great! The first half of the movie was painful to watch as a father of little girls (once upon a time), and the writers went overboard with the Texas flavoring, but in all, I thought it was entertaining. But it deserves the same caveat as most of the other "Christian flicks": Find out what God says before considering any human prophecy, interpretation, or account.

A few parts of this story chaffed me. As the little girl's illness worsens, her mother is confronted by three women in church who tell her that her daughter's affliction is the result of some great sin, which is bogus (see last sentence in paragraph above), but causes the mother to drop Sunday church like a hot potato. Eventually she returns to speak with the pastor to find out where God is in all of this, her anger and despair having trumped her faith-- the pastor earnestly attempts to mollify her by admitting that he himself has no answer. If I had been in his shoes in the same situation, I would have done everything possible to reassure her of God's love for her and her daughter, that hope is NOT lost, that faith can overcome much in a broken world (that, sadly, includes sick little girls for no apparent reason). But my real issue with this story is the girl's account of going to heaven and meeting Jesus (who sends her back, healed). I find the explanation that a child from a devout non-denominational Christian family who learned of a brown-haired, bearded, white-robed Jesus* and a place called heaven as soon as she could talk relating such an experience (real or perceived) plausible, but not miraculous. What I mean is that I most sincerely believe that all of God's works in the world are miraculous and many defy human explanation-- I might even suggest that my getting to and from seminary each day is miraculous (in that I believe God's hand is in every aspect of my life, from the seemingly incredible to the seemingly mundane).
*"Well, he had like a brown beard and brown hair and a long white robe," Annabel told Fox and Friends during a 2015 interview.

And I fully believe the mother's story (related through the book of the same name that became the film). I do believe that God was behind whatever experience her daughter had. There is just so much about science and medicine and our world and the universe that we don't understand. But I remain skeptical about those who make it to heaven and are sent back; it doesn't fit the paradigm of accepting by faith that which God has made known to us in the Bible. There is a reason why we don't know what Jesus looked like, or why he left no personal writings behind, or why we know so little about heaven. Could that little girl have actually been with Jesus in heaven? I must concede, skeptically, yes, because nothing is beyond God's doing through Jesus Christ.

The bottom line: heaven is best left to Scripture, rather than movie-makers.

I hope most folks will see the faith of a child as what this movie is really about-- after all, isn't that what we're to be about, as well?