What do angels look like? What is heaven going to be like? What will it be like after you die? If you’re like most people, at one time in your life, you may have had the conception that angels are like little half-naked babies wearing ultra-white cloth diapers, wings fluttering to the delight of all who behold them. In other words, more influenced by Cupid than by the Bible. And you probably pictured heaven like some kind of translucent city floating in the clouds, and when you go there, you’ll be floating around with other disembodied spirits, playing harps, and bored out of your mind. This idea of heaven is formed more by cartoons from the 40’s, 50’s and 60’s (ala Daffy Duck and Wile E Coyote). And how many times have you been to a funeral and heard someone say something like, “Well, he’s up there in heaven now, with no more pain or worries” while his body is in a coffin in front of you.
Is there any truth to this? If so, why did Jesus raise from the grave on that first Easter Morning, the thing that many of us celebrated just a couple of weeks ago? Why didn’t He just go straight to Heaven, instead of coming back for forty days and then finally ascend? These things have been debated for centuries, and I don’t pretend to solve it all here.
If we read Luke 24:36-43, we get the picture that the resurrected-Jesus was no ghost! Actually, that’s the first thing the disciples thought when Jesus appeared in the room with them and startled them by saying the words “Peace to you!” Jesus invites their doubts and fears to be answered by physically touching Him. He was no spirit, but a resurrected flesh-and-bone body. Then Jesus asked for a piece of broiled fish, and He ate it in front of them. I’m sure Jesus was hungry (being in the grave three days does that to a person), but I think He ate it to prove in one more way that they weren’t beholding a disembodied spirit.
Why does this matter? Because God likes to redeem that which He made and declared good (Genesis 1:26-31). God is in the business of recycling, not throwing away, because He is good and faithful. He loves to make things new (Revelation 21:5). This is really good news for us as we endure aches and pains in this life, and are constantly seeking ways to look younger and feel better. That desire is God-given, and one day those that are in Christ will be bodily raised from the dead just as Jesus was (1 Corinthians 15:20-23).
So if you are a Christian, put away the notion that one day you’ll be an apparition floating up into the clouds, and replace it with the reality that you will be enveloped in the warm, fleshy embrace of Jesus saying, “Peace to you! Well done, good and faithful servant!”
