We only need to crack open the bible to start learning about heaven: “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” Yes, God created heaven. Weird, huh? We think of God as having always existed . . . in heaven. But no. God alone is uncaused; He alone is. Even his dwelling place, the city with the pearly gates, has a cause.

Second, the bible repeatedly states that heaven is God’s dwelling place. I put that in bold because our movies and cartoons have omitted it. I watched the movie What Dreams May Come a few weeks ago, and I tilted my head hard enough to crack my neck when Robin Williams asked, “Where is God?” and Cuba Gooding Junior responded, “Up there, somewhere.” Up where? I thought. Does heaven have a heaven?

Here is what the bible says (all emphases mine):

“You have seen for yourselves that I have spoken to you from heaven.” (Exodus 20:22)

“Hear from heaven, your dwelling place, and when you hear, forgive.” (1 Kings 8:30)

“Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.” (Matthew 6:9)

The defining feature of heaven is that it is where God dwells. There might be clouds and harps, but there is certainly God. We say things like, “When I get to heaven, I’m finally going to meet my Grandpa.” Although this type of thing may be true, it should pale in comparison to our hope of meeting Christ.

Third, Heaven is not up there with earth down here. Instead of picturing it as space’s attic, picture it as another dimension; instead of thinking of it as far away, think of it as all around you. As NT Wright says in Simply Christian, “Somehow, God’s dimension and our dimension—heaven and earth—overlap and interlock.”

This is all over the New Testament, especially when it comes to Jesus. Colossians says, “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation . . . for God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him.” Jesus was fully human, yet fully divine. Heaven and earth overlapping and interlocking.

Last, heaven is not our final destination. I taught this to my high-school youth group a few weeks ago, and they looked at me as if I had swallowed a handful of crazy pills. But it’s in the bible! Revelation 21:1 says, “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away.”

Yes we go to heaven when we die, but then we wait for the final renewal of heaven and earth. This will be the start of the age to come, where sin and death will have been wiped out (think garden of Eden, minus the serpent incident). This is what we look forward to, not bouncing from cloud to cloud.

Unfortunately, many of our churches have portrayed heaven as being our final place of refuge from this evil, God forsaken place. While we’re here, then, we ought to clench our fists and wait and invite as many people as we can to do the same.

Read the bible for yourself. Jesus prayed, “Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” God loves his creation—enough to die for it—and is in the business of restoring it, not destroying it. May we join in.

You’re sitting at your desk, stalking someone on Facebook, when suddenly a bowling ball rips through your ceiling and crushes your skull. Did it fall from a plane, you ask? It doesn’t matter.  It happened. You’re dead.

As your screaming, panic-stricken friend runs in, your soul departs, grows those little cartoon wings, and floats toward the ceiling. Your friend stares at your lifeless body, then up at the hole in the ceiling, and then back at your body. “Can you hear me?” you shout, but she can’t. You’re dead, remember?

You float up to heaven, and here is the big question: What is it like?

If you and I are similar, you see clouds, harps, and your child-hood dog running toward you in slow-motion (all dogs go to heaven, obviously). It will be a place of utter peace, where we won’t be stressed about our jobs; we won’t be sick, sad, or lonely. No more fighting, no more tears. Last but not least, gravity will be weakened (so we can bounce from cloud to cloud).

These images are universal, and while cute, they share an unfortunate link: They come to us from movies and cartoons—not from the bible. Jesus never fully described the place, but when he did talk about it, he never mentioned clouds or harps. If this is the place where we will spend, oh I don’t know, FOREVER, then isn’t it worth ruminating on? Shouldn’t we examine what Jesus did mention?

I’ve decided to make this a three parter for the sake of brevity. Here’s the list of coming attractions:

Part one: Just happened. You got killed by a bowling ball.

Part two: What does the bible say about heaven?

Part three: Do we want to go there?

Please feel free to chime in, regardless of what you believe. Hope you’re looking forward to it.

This is to my friends who aren’t Christians (which is at least half of you). Como estas? Que pasa? Why is it sometimes so weird between us? It feels like there is an invisible wall there, an unspoken tension, and honestly, it drives me crazy. You assume certain things to be true about me that aren’t, and I do the same with you. Neither of us like this wall, so my aim is to tear it down, or at least put a window in it so we can see each other more clearly. Continue reading →