Heaven

body, play golf with Payne Stewart or play basketball with David Robinson? How would you like to play catch with Andy Pettitte or go for a run with Jesse Owens or Eric Liddell?
Eric Liddell understood that glorifying God extends to every part of our lives. Explaining that God had called him not only to missions work in China but also to compete in the Olympics, Liddell said to his sister, “He made me fast, and when I run I feel God’s pleasure. . . . To give up running would be to hold him in contempt.”336
In a tennis tournament, I once played a five-hour singles match in which each of the three sets went to a tiebreaker. I came away exhausted, lost two toenails, and limped for two weeks. But did I regret a single minute of that five-hour match? Not one. There’s joy in testing the limits of our bodies. Furthermore, those exhilarating five hours created a permanent bond with my opponent, who became my friend.
As we expend energy in our new bodies, it’s possible we’ll tire and need refreshment. After playing for hours, we may eat and drink to replenish our bodies, laughing about what happened on the field, enjoying each other’s company, and praising God for the sheer pleasure of it all.
People have told me, “But there can’t be athletics in Heaven because competition brings out the worst in people.” It’s true that some people’s sin spills over during athletic competition. But in Heaven, there will be no worst in us to bring out. People further object: “But in sports, someone has to lose. And in Heaven no one could lose.” Who says so? I’ve thoroughly enjoyed many tennis matches and ten-kilometer races that I’ve lost. Losing a game isn’t evil. It’s not part of the Curse. To say that “everyone would have to win in Heaven” underestimates the nature of resurrected humanity.
Can There Be Thrills without Risk?
A sincere young man told me that no matter what I might say, Heaven must be boring. Why? “Because you can’t appreciate good without bad, light without darkness, or safety without danger. If Heaven is safe, if there’s no risk, it has to be boring.”
His first mistake was assuming there’s no good without bad. God said Earth was “very good” before there was sin or anything bad (Genesis 1:31). Adam and Eve enjoyed Eden’s goodness before experiencing the badness of sin. This young man’s next mistake was believing that a person has to currently see evil at work to appreciate good and to currently be in danger to appreciate safety.

make us happy in Heaven, we betray our Christoplatonism again—for by finding happiness in God’s creation, we will find happiness in him.
We know animals will be on the New Earth, which is a redeemed and renewed old Earth, in which animals had a prominent role. People will be resurrected to inhabit this world. As we saw, Romans 8:21-23 assumes animals as part of a suffering creation eagerly awaiting deliverance through humanity’s resurrection. This seems to require that some animals who lived, suffered, and died on the old Earth must be made whole on the New Earth. Wouldn’t some of those likely be our pets?
Something better remains after death for these poor creatures . . . that these, likewise, shall one day be delivered from this bondage of corruption, and shall then receive an ample amends for all their present sufferings.
John Wesley
It seems God could do one of three things on the New Earth: (1) create entirely new animals; (2) bring back to life animals that have suffered in our present world, giving them immortal bodies (this could be re-creating, not necessarily resurrecting); (3) create some animals brand-new, “from scratch,” and bring back to life some old ones.308
I’m avoiding the term resurrection for fear that it could lead to theological error that fails to recognize the fundamental differences between people and animals—something that certain “animal rights” advocates are guilty of. However, in the broad sense of the terms, the words redemption and resurrection can appropriately apply not only to mankind but also to Earth, vegetation, and animals. A resurrected field, meadow, flower, or animal, of course, would in no sense be equal to resurrected humans; it’s simply that just as Creation and the Fall rode on the coattails of mankind, so will redemption and resurrection.
In many of his writings, C. S. Lewis commented on the future of animals. He said, “It seems to me possible that certain animals may have an immortality, not in themselves, but in the immortality of their masters. . . . Very few animals indeed, in their wild state, attain to a ‘self’ or ego. But if any do, and if it is agreeable to the goodness of God that they should live again, their immortality would also be related to man—not, this time, to individual masters, but to humanity.”309 In The Great Divorce, Lewis portrayed Sarah Smith, a woman ordinary on Earth, as great in Heaven. On Earth she loved both people and animals. In Heaven she’s surrounded by the very animals she cared for on Earth.310

It’s apparent that the Curse that fell on the earth resulted in some species dying out. But God promises, “No longer will there be any curse” (Revelation 22:3). And because it seems that the Curse will not merely be nullified but reversed, it seems likely that God might restore extinct animals and plants on the New Earth.
Animals are created for God’s glory. What could speak more of his awesome power than a tyrannosaurus? When talking to Job, God pointed out his greatness revealed in the giant land and sea creatures behemoth and leviathan (Job 40–41). Why shouldn’t all people have the opportunity to enjoy these great wonders of God on the New Earth?
Imagine Jurassic Park with all of the awesome majesty of those huge creatures but none of their violence and hostility. Imagine riding a brontosaurus—or flying on the back of a pterodactyl. Unless God made a mistake when he created them—and clearly he didn’t—why wouldn’t he include them when he makes “everything new”?
Will Our Pets Be Restored on the New Earth?
Humorist Will Rogers said, “If there are no dogs in heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went.” This statement was, of course, based on sentiment, not theology. However, it reflects something biblical: a God-given affection for animals. I’ve often thanked God for my golden retriever, who, when I was a boy, crawled into my sleeping bag as I lay in my backyard gazing up at the stars. Although I didn’t know God then, he touched my life through that dog. Nanci and I have experienced many hours of laughter and joy in animals.
Certainly people can go to unhealthy extremes with their animals. Still, though we understandably roll our eyes at pet psychologists or estates left to Siamese cats, we should ask ourselves why so many people find such companionship, solace, and joy in their pets. Is it because of sin? I believe it’s because of how God has made animals, and us.
That’s why the question of whether pets will be in Heaven is not, as some assume, stupid. Animals aren’t nearly as valuable as people, but God is their Maker and has touched many people’s lives through them. It would be simple for him to re-create a pet in Heaven if he wants to. He’s the giver of all good gifts, not the taker of them. If it would please us to have a pet restored to the New Earth, that may be sufficient reason. Consider parents who’ve acquired a pet because of their child’s request. God is better than we are at giving good gifts to his children (Matthew 7:9-11). And if we object that animals won’t

Do you have a close friend who’s had a profound influence on you? Do you think it is a coincidence that she was in your dorm wing or became your roommate? Was it accidental that your desk was near his or that his family lived next door or that your father was transferred when you were in third grade so that you ended up in his neighborhood? God orchestrates our lives. “From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live” (Acts 17:26).
Since God determined the time and exact places you would live, it’s no accident which neighborhood you grew up in, who lived next door, who went to school with you, who was part of your church youth group, who was there to help you and pray for you. Our relationships were appointed by God, and there’s every reason to believe they’ll continue in Heaven.
God’s plan doesn’t stop on the New Earth; it continues. God doesn’t abandon his purposes; he extends and fulfills them. Friendships begun on Earth will continue in Heaven, getting richer than ever.
Will some friendships be closer than others? Augustine claimed, “In the city of God there will be no special friendships. . . . All special attachments will be absorbed into one comprehensive and undifferentiated community of love. . . . The universalized love of heaven permits no exclusive, restricted circles of friends.”284
But how does this position stand up to Scripture?
Just because we’ll be sinless doesn’t mean we won’t be drawn to certain people more than others. We’ll like everyone, but we’ll be closer to some than others. Jesus was closer to John than to any of the other disciples. Jesus was closer to Peter, James, and John than to the rest of the Twelve, and closer to the Twelve than to the seventy, and closer to the seventy than to his other followers. He was close to Lazarus and Martha, and closer still to their sister Mary. He was so close to his mother that while he was dying on the cross, he instructed John to care for her after his death. Since Christ was closer to some people than to others, clearly there can’t be anything wrong with it.
In Heaven there won’t be cliques, exclusiveness, arrogance, posturing, belittling, or jealousy. But when friends particularly enjoy each other’s company, they are reflecting God’s design. If, as you walk about the New Jerusalem, you see Adam and Eve holding hands as they look at the tree of life, would you begrudge them their special friendship?
Perhaps you’re disappointed that you’ve never had the friendships you long for. In Heaven you’ll have much closer relationships with some people you now know, but it’s also true that you may never have met the closest friends you’ll ever have. Just as someone may be fifty years old before meeting her best friend, you may live on the New Earth enjoying many friendships before meeting someone who will become your dearest friend. Maybe your best friend will be someone sitting next to you at the first great

An interesting passage tells us that John the Baptist was filled with the Holy Spirit in his mother’s womb (Luke 1:15, NASB). This suggests that God conferred a righteous standing—or at least a special, spiritual, sanctifying work—on John even though he was too young to confess his sinfulness or consciously yield to God. If God did that with John, couldn’t he do it with other children? Similarly, David says God had been his God since his mother bore him (Psalm 22:10). God told Jeremiah he’d known him since before he was formed in his mother’s womb (Jeremiah 1:5).
The most common biblical argument used to support infant salvation is David’s statement about his infant son who died: “I will go to him, but he will not return to me” (2 Samuel 12:23). It’s possible that David was saying either that he would die and go to the grave (joining his son in death but not necessarily in Heaven) or that he would die and, in fact, join his son in Heaven. I personally think David, in his agony, was consoling himself with the belief he would one day join his son in Heaven.
Although I believe God makes special provision for children to welcome them into Heaven, I’m concerned that this doctrine—which is at most implied and certainly not directly taught in Scripture—has been twisted in a way to make many people feel indifferent about two heartrending situations: abortion and children dying of sickness and malnutrition. I’ve written more elsewhere on the dangerous aspects of this subject.280
Perhaps in Heaven many people will meet their children who were aborted or their children who died in miscarriages (even some miscarriages their mothers weren’t aware of). Many parents will be reunited with children who died at an early age. Perhaps these children will grab our hands and show us around the present Heaven. Then one day, after the final resurrection, we’ll enjoy each other’s company on the New Earth—and experience its wonders together.
If children do go to Heaven when they die, why doesn’t God tell us that directly? It may be that he anticipates the twisted logic and rationalization it might foster in us. It might take from us the sense of urgency to see our children come to faith in Christ. It might cause us to be less concerned about the sacred God-given task of extending physical and financial help to the underprivileged and getting the gospel to children around the world. We must do what God has called us to do, which includes protecting, rescuing, feeding, evangelizing, and discipling children.
In Heaven, both we and they will be grateful for all we did on their behalf.
Who Will Our Friends Be in Heaven?
Augustine and Aquinas—two of history’s most influential theologians—imagined that in Heaven people would focus exclusively on God and that relationships between human beings would be minimal or insignificant.281
These great theologians were swayed by Christoplatonism. For the most part, they didn’t seem to grasp that the eternal Heaven will be on Earth, where people will live and work in a relational society, glorifying God not merely as individuals but as a family in rich relationship with each other.