I am often asked about either the location or architecture of heaven. People ask, Where is heaven? And what will it look like? Some are quick to offer answers to these questions, based on metaphors found in the bible or pious conjectures from well-meaning people of faith. But the answer I give the most reminds people that heaven is less about a place and more about a fundamental relationship. It is less about a location (on earth, in the clouds, another dimension in this universe) and more about it being wherever God is. Heaven is where Christ welcomes us and completes us. Every other detail on this topic is secondary to that primary bit of good news.
Yet a comment I read recently in a book review has prompted me to flesh out my standard answer a bit more. Megan Hustad wrote a memoir called More Than Conquerors about growing up as a Christian missionary kid. In the book review, she was quoted as saying something like this: “Cities often get a bad rap from Christians, because they daily remind us that the human heart’s true desire is to look at one another, not up.” Her point was that Christianity’s focus on heaven as being God’s realm somewhere “up there” in the heavens is hard to maintain if life in urban settings forces you to train your eyes on what’s ahead of you here on earth (whether that’s foot traffic on crowded sidewalks or buses swerving into your lane while driving down pot-holed streets). My reaction to that remark was to think that a Christian’s focus should ALWAYS involve looking at one another, and only rarely involve looking up. That is certainly the model we’re given by Christ and the healthiest way to live into our faith in today’s busy, secular world. Therefore, in addition to heaven being wherever God is, I would also comment that heaven is a city.
What is a city except a place where people live in close proximity to one another, a place where lives intersect in ways that are ideally mutually just, supportive and designed around the common good? What is a city but a place of diversity, of various languages and entertainments and opportunities for learning, laughter and conversation? Heaven could not be a deserted tropical island, for you cannot join the great choir of witnesses if you’re stranded somewhere all alone. If heaven is at all like the vision given to John in the book of Revelation, we are told explicitly that it is a holy city – a place where God dwells among us, wiping every tear from our eyes; where death, mourning, crying and pain will be no more.
The best of city life occurs when we find fresh ways to live and work together so that all are cared for and loved. If in Christ we are new beings together, then I like to imagine that happening in a vibrant, varied, energetic urban setting. Sure, there will still need to be parks and pastures and places to be still before God. But heaven is not a place to which we run away and escape from the world; it is that place, by God’s grace, where we discover ourselves in community with God and others. Hold that bus – I’m bound for a heavenly, urban destination!
Randy Bush
I, too, believe heaven is a city or a physical place. In fact, a holy city. It is the place where all things, all promises, all hopes and all dreams have been consummated (thus transformed) into God’s full plan for us. It is the place where no more pain or sorrow exist and we will all live in the light of God’s unhindered presence.
For me, part of the great mystery is that heaven is where God is. And we believe that God is here. Yet we do not appear to be in heaven. The kingdom of God is near but not fully present to us, at least in a way we can be totally aware of.
God has also “chosen us as a home.” Through baptism God’s spirit lives in and animates our relationship to the Father. So, the kingdom of heaven is not only near us, it is within us. This great truth is a deeper mystery to me than any other Christian claim. Not just Emmanuel, God with us but God in us! Wow! This is my greatest joy and also the nexus of my greatest difficulty in my daily walk with God – intellectually and spiritually. If this is true, and I believe it is, then what are the physical, spiritual and emotional implications of this truth. For me it is staggering to consider it.
I do believe the kingdom of heaven is not only near us but in us! To me, this is what Paul means when he talks about “seeing dimly.” Through the Eucharist we get a foretaste of the heavenly banquet. It is also true that in prayer, in times of deep and loving connection, in the midst of a profound religious moment, we see, maybe less dimly, but we see both what is nigh and what is to come. God allows us these “anamnesis” kinds of experiences where we see past, present and future in a moment, a God moment, for sure.
I pray for that consummation for us all. Where God is all in all and we are safe and at peace with him and all of creation.