Answers

Q:

How can we be happy in heaven if it's going to have people in it that we don't necessarily like? There are several people in our church, for example, who are really hard to get along with, and frankly I can't imagine being around them for eternity.


A:

Heaven, the Bible says, will be a place of supreme happiness – and I can assure you that you don’t need to worry about this problem. All the things that upset us now – including the hurts and conflicts that others cause – will be finished. As the psalmist wrote, “Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever” (Psalm 23:6).

Why won’t people who irritate you now bother you once you’re in heaven? For one thing, they will be changed! All their sins and their selfish ways will be destroyed, and they will be exactly the way God meant them to be! They’ll no longer be short-tempered or unloving or boastful or thoughtless. Instead, they will be like Christ.

But there is another reason why people like this won’t bother you in heaven. It is this: You will be changed! You won’t be the same person you are right now. All your shortcomings and imperfections and sins will be gone, and you too will be like Christ.

The Bible says, “Dear friends … we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is” (1 John 3:2). Are you looking forward to that day? Make sure of your commitment to Christ – and then ask Him to help you become more like Him every day.