Letting Go of Heaven

People want to know and are always asking questions like “what does heaven look like?” What I recall is you are in many places at once and the space you are in is not ordinary walls with colors, paintings or furniture. Material things are there, but in God’s presence they do not grab your attention, nor do you focus on their absence, because the real beauty and color of heaven is the presence of the Lord. He is everywhere in everything. I believe the reason I have such a hard time with pictures in my mind of heaven or things like angels, clouds and all the other associated clichés’ is because when you are there, you do not see the presence of the physical, but rather you feel it in dimensions too numerous and wonderful to describe. Perhaps my mind, limited by critical or cognitive skills, could barely hold such miraculous imagery. Even now telling this story causes a sort of grief---it is weird. I want to be there! I do not want to die, but I cannot help the feeling that drives me and my desire to be home in my Father’s house. Now, I feel like an alien, a true pilgrim in this world, someone just passing through to another life.

I remember plopping down from exhaustion. I had to rest for a minute. As I was sitting there, I looked around, and happened to glance down from the curb where I was perched, “Hmm, streets of gold,” I thought. I have never held a gold bar in my hand, but the street surface looked like gold bricks. I took my finger and scratched one, but it did not yield. I remember thinking “Is this gold?” Cynthia standing nearby began to laugh.

I looked at her, and she asked, “Don’t you read your Bible?”

“Yeah, of course,” I thought. My friend was laughing at me, but I was still in awe. Heavenly streets really are paved in gold![1]

Then I asked her, “Why am I so tired?”

And she responded, “Because you are still in your earthly body.”

I knew I did not have a spiritual body yet, nor did I have a glorified one.[i] Nevertheless, I never thought about death. I knew I was still in my body, but also that I was not on earth. I noticed everyone in heaven had what I would describe as an absolutely glorious physique. With a god-breathed spirit removed of sinful, mortal flesh, their human form remained recognizable, but their heavenly spirits were renewed.[ii] My spirit, however, was still somehow anchored to earth.

[1] Revelation 21:21: “And the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass.”

[i] Philippians 3:21, “Through His power to bring everything under His authority, he will change our humble bodies and make them like his glorified body” (from GOD'S WORD Copyright © 1995 by God's Word to the Nations Bible Society. All rights reserved.).

[ii] 2 Corinthian 4:16, “That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day” (Holy Bible, New Living Translation ®, copyright © 1996, 2004 by Tyndale Charitable Trust. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers. All rights reserved).