By Greg Laurie
Harvest Ministries
This may come as a revelation to some, but our bodies were not meant to last forever. They are a temporary place to house our souls. The Bible tells us, "For we know that when this earthly tent we live in is taken down (that is, when we die and leave this earthly body), we will have a house in heaven, an eternal body made for us by God himself and not by human hands" (2 Corinthians 5: 2).
Our new bodies will, in some ways, be like our old bodies, but in other ways they will be different — and without question, radically improved. Our minds will be redeemed from the limitations that sin has placed upon them. As we get older, we tend to forget more and more things, like the names of certain people and where we parked the car. But in heaven, our minds will be operating at maximum capacity. We will know more in heaven than we know on Earth. As 1 Corinthians 15:43 says, "Our bodies are buried in brokenness, but they will be raised in glory. They are buried in weakness, but they will be raised in strength." There will be no effects of aging. There will be no disabilities.
Our resurrection bodies will resemble that of Jesus, because 1 John 3:2 tells us, "Dear friends, we are already God's children, but he has not yet shown us what we will be like when Christ appears. But we do know that we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is."
It is great to think about heaven, because we have so much to look forward to. But while we are looking forward to it, let's also pray that God will help us to make a difference on Earth.
Related Links
Resurrections in Review - SpiritandTruth.org (Andy Woods) When will the Resurrection take place? - GotQuestions.org Christ in His Resurrection - Blue Letter Bible Commentary (John Walvoord) Our Resurrection Bodies - Grace to You (John MacArthur) Signs of the Times What the Bible says about The Rapture, Antichrist, Armagedon, Heaven and Hell - Greg Laurie (Book)
