I often think about what the experience of being in Heaven will be like. I’m not sure that I can wrap my mind around it. What I think less about is what I will be like in Heaven. Perhaps this need to change. John says:
2 Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. 3 And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.
1 John 3:2-3 (ESV)
I don’t think this is a comment about Jesus’ body plan. The Son of God became human when He was conceived in Mary’s womb. There is no reason to conclude that He is not human still. Nor is this passage a statement that we will take on the transcendent qualities of the Triune God: omniscience (knowing everything), omnipotence (be able to do anything), and omnipresence (being everywhere). It is a statement that we will have a completed set of Christ-like characteristics, as in love, joy, peace, patience, and so forth; and that we will be free of our sinful nature and its characteristics.
What will that be like? Currently, we will have to deal with a degree of selfishness in ourselves. In Heaven and the New Earth, we will be absorbed in caring about the people around us. There will be no shortages or need to compete for resources, but we wouldn’t if there were. Other people will be the same and care about us.
We will find joy in everything rather than negativity. Now there are reasons for negativity because the world is damaged by the curse. Heaven will not be same. Nonetheless, we will be able to find joy in every aspect of God’s creation. If endless wonder sounds exhausting to you, or boring, it won’t be those limitations are a part of your current flesh.
How about complete peace? No worries. There will literally be nothing to worry about, but we also would not inclined to worry if there were. People pursue this kind of freedom through drugs or alcohol now. Only these things only mask problems and create more.
Patience. We can all use some more for this frustrating world. In Heaven patience will be abundant because of our character but the need for it non-existent.
Our Heavenly bodies will be perfected for a human body, but we will also be in a perfected environment. The experience is hard to comprehend. Still for those of us who are connected to Jesus through a mystical union which God creates through baptism, we not only have reason to be certain that this is our destiny, we also are eager for it to begin.
That is why John says that we “purify” ourselves as Jesus is pure. Our current status with respect to sin’s guilt and damages is a little complicated. With respect to God’s Law, we are already perfect. We are seen as having the perfection of Jesus. This results in our having eternal life.
For now, we still have sinful nature and live in a sinful environment so this will result in unacceptable behavior in thoughts, words, deeds, bad motivations, and failures to act in good ways. This is what can be limited. We seek to purify ourselves from these things now, even though we can’t eliminate our sinfulness (it is in our DNA).
What can be done? You start by knowing God’s Law and identifying what God shows you to be wrong. You don’t dismiss it or live in denial. You don’t rationalize why you did it. You confess it to God and ask for His forgiveness. Now technically, you are already forgiven and have been since your baptism. Confessing sins is primarily about containing the damage caused by our sinfulness and becoming more like what we will be at death. Self-examination and confession may not feel affirming, but we get our self-esteem from God’s love and the value He puts on us. Repentance and confession is about improvement.
We can do more. Studying the qualities of Jesus noted in Scripture, praying about them, and choosing to act appropriately does even more. Will stuff slip through? Yes. There is a “natural” limit of what can be achieved while still stuck with our sin altered bodies. But pressing toward what we will be is not only consistent with our hopes, it has its own rewards.
How should we act toward others as we pursue purification? You don’t want to fall off the other side of the log by becoming a self-righteous, holier-than-thou. Jesus liked those people the least. We can rebuke others as a sinner who is in the same situation, we can encourage, we can pronounce God’s forgiveness. These things are love rather than competition.
The pursuit of “purification” or sanctification (to be made holy) will make our transformation at death more satisfying. It will not “steal the thunder”. Sanctification is a good thing that we can start to enjoy right now.
afterdeathsite 