Forever Fantasies

How do you feel about spending, say, three trillion years perched on a cloud, strumming a harp? Excited?

Right, not so much. Same here.

What about, oh, three years? Sigh, I don’t think I would last three weeks.

I believe the idea that we’re going to spend eternity on clouds, strumming harps, is one of the devil’s more pervasive lies. Nobody really believes it, but it keeps coming up to hint that we’re going to be bored out of our minds forever.

What if…

The Bible doesn’t tell us too much about how we’re going to spend eternity, but it’s hard not to wonder what we’ll be doing throughout that eternal TODAY.

For example, after Daddy died, I couldn’t help thinking that maybe the Lord would give him a whole planet to work on. Daddy is a plant artist. His college degree was in landscape architecture, and he spent his whole career growing plants and creating beautiful yards. Just imagine what he would do with his own planet and no earthly limitations. Plus no weeds!

Then, after Mother’s younger brother died, several years following her death, I was almost certain the two of them were exploring the universe on white, flying horses. (See Revelation 19:14.) They grew up on a cattle ranch and both always loved horseback riding. Wouldn’t they have fun seeing all the sights in a million galaxies? And if they should eventually get tired of horses, they could probably catch a ride on a passing comet.

One day, I was in a Bible book store, bemoaning the fact that I would not be able to read all those books in one lifetime. Then it occurred to me – maybe they’ll be available when I get to Heaven. Maybe I’ll have eternity to read all the fascinating books ever written. And to watch all the worthwhile movies ever filmed.

Previews of Coming Attractions?

Okay, I’m obviously not saying anything that is scriptural and reliable. I’m just dreaming. So here are some more flights of fantasy:

1. Maybe we’ll be able to view all of history on (or in) some kind of impossibly state-of-the-art video re-creation. Of course, world history is rich with fascinating stories to review, but wouldn’t it be a hoot to see yourself at ages one and two and three, etc.? I would love to relive the childhoods of my nieces and nephews. And my parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. Plus all the delightful students I have taught over the years – I want to hear happy stories about how they spent the years after leaving my classroom.
2. I wonder if the Lord might let biologists design new kinds of plants and animals.
3. I can imagine architects creating magnificent new buildings, maybe even fabricating new types of building materials.
4. I hope the Lord turns a bunch of physicists loose to devise elaborate gigantic roller coasters. And lots of other amusement park rides, as well.
5. What if there were a whole planet dedicated to golf? Golfers might want to create it themselves, then play through the entire planet time after time.
6. Let’s not leave out the other sports. Football would be a lot more fun if nobody had to worry about injuries. And in our new, spiritual bodies, we’ll be indestructible, won’t we? So anybody could play any sport without worrying about concussions or fractures or blood loss. Who knows, there could be whole planets set aside for basketball and baseball and volleyball and… You name your favorite sport.
7. Considering the size of the universe, I’m thinking artists will never run out of subjects to draw and paint and sculpt.

Well, you can see how my mind is working. Of course, I could be completely wrong. But I do know that Heaven is going to be…well, heaven. It will be glorious, delightful, awesome. It will be more wonderful than anything we can imagine.

Going the Other Way

Sometimes I worry about people who choose to go the other direction. In other words, to hell. What are they going to be doing for all eternity?

I have to tell you – I can’t see God designing lovely pastimes for them. As near as I can tell from the Bible, hell will be dark and hot. It will be miserable.

But for me, the worst part would be – what if they have nothing to do? My sister-in-law says we Johansens have a family disease: fear of boredom. She’s right.

And so, when I try to imagine spending eternity with nothing to do, I almost can’t stand it. The very idea makes me want to get a club, go out, and force people to get born again. I guess, if it would work, I might try it!

But, of course, if our omnipotent God won’t force anyone to love Him, I have to take my cue from Him. His way is always the best way.

Beautiful Dreams

So, I’ll spend my forever fantasies thinking about the wonders of Heaven and a vast universe created by the God who made eagles and horses, puppies and kittens, roses and buttercups. Waterfalls and rivers, oceans and forests, stars and planets. Love and joy, laughter and hugs, wisdom and wonder.

Two more: pizzas and platypuses!

Two Disclaimers

1. In this blog, I’m thinking about eternity, not the millennium when Jesus will reign on Earth. The parable in Luke 19 makes me think we may be busy that thousand years, helping govern this planet. I may be completely wrong, but that parable talks about a prince going to a distant country to receive a kingdom. When he returns, he rewards his faithful servants by putting them in charge of five or ten cities. To me, that set up sounds like He could be talking about His millennial Kingdom. And Christians would be the faithful servants. We’ll see…
2. Someone is probably thinking, “I thought we were going to spend all eternity praising the Lord.” And there’s no doubt that our God deserves an eternity of praise. However, I can’t help wondering how long perpetual praise would remain meaningful. To me, it seems more likely that we will have opportunity 100% of the time throughout eternity to give the Lord our praise and thanksgiving. But look around you. Is it reasonable that the God who created this amazing world, including people with vastly different and valuable abilities, would expect us to park and praise forever and do nothing else? It seems more logical that we will be very busy with meaningful, exciting activities. Then, when gratitude wells up within us, we can pop into the throne room (just like we do now) and express to the Lord our heartfelt love and joy!

End note. I know I’m compulsive, but I have to say it again. There is no scriptural foundation for my fantasies. They’re pure whimsy. Bottom line, I’m sure we’ll have purposeful, enjoyable work to do for all eternity. And, of course, when we get there, we’ll undoubtedly find that God’s ideas are a million times better than my feeble fantasies!

And that’s one more reason to say, “Maranatha! Please, Lord, come soon!”

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Thank you to Steve Bidmean and pixabay.com for the featured image.