We’ve Lost Our Vocabulary of Wonder About Heaven

Last updated on: April 3, 2017 at 12:21 pm by Randy Alcorn

We’ve Lost Our Vocabulary of Wonder About Heaven 2017-03-30T12:25:16-08:00 Randy Alcorn

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

turtle-swim-large

In 50 Days of Heaven, I write:

If we are honest, we must admit that we are not daily and consciously looking forward to Heaven, much less to a New Earth. We’ve reduced Heaven to an otherworldly state, and we’ve ignored the clear biblical promise of a redeemed universe over which we will serve as God’s delegated rulers. We’ve become blinded to the truth, and we’ve lost our vocabulary of wonder and our anticipation of the great and glorious plan that God has in store for us. Jesus said of the devil, “When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies” (John 8:44). Some of Satan’s favorite lies are about Heaven.

A reader recently asked me, Can you elaborate on what you mean by “we’ve lost our vocabulary of wonder”?

By losing our vocabulary of wonder, I mean that we’ve come to think of Heaven as utterly immaterial and non-physical, a home suited for body-less angels, not real people. Floating in clouds while strumming harps isn’t anybody’s idea of a great time. But the Heaven God promises is for human beings, who aren’t just spiritual but physical too. This is why the biblical teaching of the physical resurrection and eternal life together on the New (resurrected) Earth is so critical. Nobody wants to be a ghost (if they think of it as ghostly, our children will never be excited about Heaven). We don’t get excited about a place we can’t imagine.

In this life we marvel at and talk about the wondrous beauty of mountains, beaches, sunsets, lakes, and deserts. We’re amazed by the experience of snorkeling with turtles, dolphins, and manta rays over ocean reefs. We talk about the majestic power of Niagara Falls and the overwhelming magnificence of the Grand Canyon, a thunderous herd of wild horses, the migration of humpback whales, and the breathtaking rings of Saturn. These move us to awe and worship—and because we use a vocabulary of wonder that pulls us in, holds our attention, and captures our imagination, we get inspired and dream about going beautiful places. We tell our children all about how great the place is we’re taking them for vacation.

Similarly, Scripture tells us “we are looking forward to a new heavens and new earth [redeemed universe] in which righteousness dwells” (2 Peter 3:13). The problem is, many believers are not looking forward to a new heavens and New Earth! They imagine this present life is the real life, their only opportunity to experience everything on their bucket list, when in fact, the place Jesus is preparing for us on the New Earth will be way better than the best of this life—all the present beauty and far more, with none of the sin and suffering.

Jesus repeatedly spoke of eating and drinking together at great feasts in God’s eternal kingdom, and everyone knew that feasts were full of fun and laughter and dancing. So God tells us to set our minds not primarily on this life, but on the person we were made for, Jesus, and the place we were made for: Heaven (Colossians 3:1-4). That way we get a foretaste of Heaven’s glory and wonder and beauty as we live our lives today. People will see that we’re different, because Jesus and His kingdom are our center of gravity.

Photo: Unsplash

Heaven

new earth

Previous Post

March 27, 2017

Highlights from the Linger, Kingdom Advisors, and Pro Athletes Outreach Conferences

Next Post

April 10, 2017 This Changes Everything: A Challenging and Refreshing Book for Teens, and Everyone

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category About Me Animals Books Books and Resources Christ Christian Life Christians Past and Present Church Creation Culture and Worldview Doctrine and Theology Eternal Perspective Ministries Fun Grace and Truth Grief Happiness Heaven Marriage and Family Missions Money and Giving Persecuted Church Politics Prayer Prolife Salvation Sexual Purity Sovereignty and Free Will Suffering and Evil Uncategorized Writing

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz