“At least you’ll see each other again in heaven!”
Chances are, someone has tried to comfort you with this after losing a loved one. It’s a sentiment that’s meant to provide hope and encouragement. But what if all you feel in response is doubt?
Will we live with our families in heaven? Will we really have any recollection of our lives on earth and bring those memories with us to the afterlife? The Bible has some encouraging truths about it.
Will we live with our families in heaven?
First of all, let’s lay some groundwork: after we die, we don’t simply stop existing. What really happens after we die?
What happens after we die?
When we die, our souls continue on and we spend eternity in God’s presence – otherwise known as heaven. Ecclesiastes 12:7 explains it this way: “the dust will return to the earth, and the spirit will return to the God who gave it.”
However, there’s an important distinction to make – only those who have proclaimed their faith in Jesus and have trusted him as their savior will spend eternity in heaven. Jesus said in John 5:24, “those who listen to my message and believe in God who sent me have eternal life. They will never be condemned for their sins, but have already passed from death into eternal life.”
So if you’ve decided to trust Jesus, you’ll go to heaven after you die. If your loved ones have trusted Jesus as well, they’ll be there too! But will you remember each other?
Will we know each other in heaven?
Jesus shared a fascinating story in Luke 16. He tells the tale of a rich man who overlooks the opportunity to care for a poor man who hung out by gates to his home. Both men die, and the rich man – who appears to have gone to hell – can see the poor man in heaven and recognizes him. He calls out to be brought up to heaven with him, but is denied.
When it comes to our relationships on earth, this passage shows us that we will recognize familiar people when we go to heaven. Most likely, we will have a sense of memory of this life, and we will remember our relationships with other followers of Jesus.
Will we live with our families in heaven?
Just because we remember each other doesn’t mean our relationship dynamics with our family members will be exactly the same as they were on earth. One thing we know from the Bible is that there will be no marriage in heaven (Matthew 22:30). So you will remember the person you were once married to, but you won’t exist as husband and wife in heaven the way you did on earth.
While the Bible doesn’t specifically say whether or not this will happen, it’s probably safe to assume that our family relationships in heaven won’t be exactly the same as they were on earth. We may not share a dwelling with one another, but the memory of our relationships will carry on and we will reunite with the people who meant a lot to us in our earthly lives!
What about loved ones who didn’t trust Jesus?
When we think about who we’ll reunite with in heaven, sometimes a painful question rises to the surface: “What about my friends and family that didn’t follow Jesus?”
The Bible is clear that our souls will go to one of two destinations when we die: heaven or hell (Matthew 25:46). Ultimately, this is the result of the free will God gives us. God relentlessly pursues us, and our lives are full of opportunities to accept his gift of grace and follow him – but at the end of the road, God gives us what we want: to be with him or to be without him.
However, don't be discouraged just yet. God is infinitely creative in how he will make himself known to the people we love. We see this in Jesus’ interaction with the thief on the cross next to him. At the last possible moment, one of the criminals being crucified alongside Jesus repented for his sins and asked Jesus to remember him in the next life. And Jesus, even in his last hours of life, forgave him and said “I assure you, today you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:40-43).
We don’t know for sure if our loved ones passed away without ever trusting Jesus. But what we do know is that each of us, while we’re still living, can trust Jesus. We can know his forgiveness and salvation and have certainty that we will spend eternity in heaven.
If you’re ready to take that step, let us know – we'd love to support you and pray for you as you begin your journey of following Jesus!
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This is just one of many questions surrounding heaven. There are a lot of conflicting views and misleading details about heaven. Discover the truth about 6 of the biggest misconceptions about heaven!
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