I've had many conversations with some of my Mormon friends and family, the topic of what we will be doing when we get there has come up more than one might think. It is not only a very interesting topic of discussion but surprisingly important and motivating.
What will we do in heaven?
Maybe you've never thought about it much. Maybe just getting to heaven has sufficed to satisfy your theological inquiries on the matter. But, eternity is a really, really, really long time. This life is but a speck of time compared to all the time we will spend in eternity. So, for some, it is perfectly reasonable to speculate what will happen for the majority of our existence. Even more so, it is logical to adjust your theology based on what makes sense regarding this matter.
Mormons believe that heaven is not only our eternal home, but it is a place where we can grow, learn, and progress. God created us to strive to be better, to grow, and to flourish. That is why in Mormonism, heaven - or at least the Celestial Kingdom - is not the last stop for us. Worthy men and women will learn and grow and become more like the Father. Through hard work, obedience, and righteous living can achieve their full potential and become a God.
Christians believe that heaven is our eternal home and final resting place. When all is said and done, when Jesus has come again, when the devil is defeated, and when all the saints have gone home, all believing Christians will live with Him for eternity. There we will all come together as believers and worship and honor our God for all time.
It's Sunday. Everyday. Forever...
Now, for a lot of Mormons, I've heard that the Christian doctrine regarding this matter is, to put it bluntly, very boring. They tell me that singing "Amazing Grace" and "How Great Thou Art" for all of time and eternity is extremely dull. Their thinking - to my understanding - is that if God truly wants to have an eternal church service celebrating Him with all of us singing and kissing His feet, then wouldn't that make God a bit too self-centered, conceited, self-righteous, petty, and various other sinful characteristics? Furthermore, what a waste of such beautiful creations. Why would God create all of mankind with brains, dreams, goals, and potential to have us all just shout "God is Good!" for ever and ever? Doesn't make sense!
My brother put it best in an analogy a few years ago. He asked me if I loved my son? I of course answered in the affirmative. He then asked me if I would want my son to grow up and be better than I am. Again, I answered yes. He finally asked me if God was the greatest Father that ever existed. I could answer nothing but yes. "AHA!" he exclaimed, "so then why wouldn't God want us to grow and become like Him?! You know that God loves us and as his sons and daughters, he wants what is best for us. He wants us to share in His glory and know what He knows, love how He loves, and become the best versions of ourselves! He wants us to become exalted. It's only logical!"
To be honest, that conversation has been rolling around in my head for years now. I've wrestled with this idea for some time now. The truth of the matter is, that my brother's argument makes a lot of sense. We are great amazing creations with passion, intelligence, and aspirations. Why would God waste all of that? Why would God create us to only have these characteristics used for a fraction of our life? Why, why, why?
The Master
You see, my brother is correct. A good father does want the best for his children. A good father wants his kids to be better than he is. A good father does want to share everything with his kids. A good father wants all of this and more. But "Father" is a title. God is not our "Father" in the same sense as I am a father to my kids. True there are parallels I can draw between the two, but they are merely metaphors to help us finite minded people to understand aspects of our God.
You need to understand that the Bible refers to God as our father because it helps us understand Him better. It helps explain a portion of His character by giving us a tangible example. He's loving, like a father. He's in charge, like a father. He provides for us, like a father. But do not make the term Father mean more than it should. Just because He is called our Father does not mean He is our literal father.
Make no mistake, God is our Creator (Gen 1:1, John 1;3, Rom. 9:20-22), our Master (Eph 6:9, 2 Tim 2:20-22), our LORD (John 20:27-29). These are words that better describe our relationship to Him. In more literal terms, we are His creations, His servants, His people.
When put into context of scripture, our relationship with him as well as our status becomes more properly defined. If we just see God as the best Father that ever existed, then we perceive ourselves as His children. While this thinking is kind of true, it is not the full picture and we mistakingly rationalize that we have - or will have - the same rights as Him. In a way, we make ourselves equal with Him - as my son will one day become a man, have a family, and become a father to his own kids. But God says that He is One (Deut. 6:4), that no one will become like Him, not now, not later, not ever. (Isa. 43:10). Just looking at God as our literal Father in Heaven leads us to violate scripture.
Instead, we should see ourselves as He does. We are the lumps of clay and He is the Potter. We are created beings and He is the Great Creator. He is the Almighty, the Alpha, the Omega, the Beginning, the End, the Eternal Father, the Holy, Holy, Holy One...etc. When we step back and see all of these characteristics together we start to see God - and our place - more clearly.
The reason my brother's analogy was so difficult to swallow was because I was accepting his premise and trying to fit the Bible into it. I should have stopped my brother and said, "But your analogy doesn't hold water, bro. I didn't create my son from nothing as God did with Adam. I didn't speak and create all that we see as God did in Genesis. I don't own everything, control everything, know everything as God does. I don't pay for my son's sins, as God did for me. I am not my son's Lord, as my God is for me."
How Does This Relate to Heaven?
If you have the wrong idea about God, who He is, and what our place is then you will be left asking God in the afterlife, what do I get? You'll show up to those Golden Celestial Gates and stick your hands out and waiting for your moment to shine. You won't see Heaven in terms of God, but of yourself. You will selfishly make heaven about you.
Wanna Know What I Think?
I think we are going to have an eternal church service. What will that look like, I have no idea. But none the less, I think that we all will spend our eternity worshiping and honoring God. Moreover, I believe it will not be boring in the least...
How? Because I think that in heaven everything will click. You know how when you were in school and the teacher was explaining something to you and for some reason you just didn't get it? Maybe it was some math problem, or some history lesson, or some English grammar rule. But then one day, someone said something and it just...clicked. Everything you were struggling with just fell into place, and it seemed so simple! I believe that we will all have an experience like that but to a much greater scale.
I think when we get to heaven, the seriousness of our plight on earth will be fully realized. I think the weight of our sin will not only become evidently clear to us but will lead us to our knees. I think that in that moment we will fully understand the cross. We won't just see it as a symbol for hope, but the full love of God. I think that we will understand the enormous task it was for God to step into our filth. I think that Jesus's death will strike us as if we were there at Calvary. I think the ground beneath us will shake because we will feel that stone moving away and the earth quaking signaling that Jesus has overcome. I think that all our joys, all our hope, all our emotions will become intensified. I think that we will know beyond a shadow of a doubt that God died for us. We will know that God is God. We will know that God loves us. And we will know that we are forgiven. Then, at that instant, we will stand and be face to face with our God. We will behold His glory, and we will feel His embrace as He welcomes us for all eternity! TO GOD BE THE GLORY, FOREVER AND EVER! AMEN!!
I think we will be too busy being in love with Jesus and rejoicing with the saints that we are forgiven, saved, redeemed, and in the presence of Glory to be bored. I think we'll be like those kids at Disneyland who say to themselves every chance they get, "I can't believe we're here. I can't believe we made it!" Those kids who run to their father and just pour out a grateful heart the entire trip. That will be us.
Heaven isn't boring. It is glorious beyond measure!
