Ever wonder how we got this cartoon image of heaven as a boring place where our loved one is sitting on a cloud strumming a harp?

1 Corinthians 1:27

New International Version (NIV)

27 But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.

 I was listening to our local Christian talk radio station, KTIS 900 AM   while driving to the compost site Saturday morning  I happened to tune in at the mid point of the program.  The gist of the program had to do with  why people have this cartoon like image of heaven.  In the program the speaker stated that most seminaries teach very little on the topic of heaven and what it will be like. 

As I reflect on this for a moment I have to agree with this statement. As a child I had the notion that heaven was simply sitting on the cloud somewhere listening to harp music.  When I began watching 'It's a wonderful life I saw heaven through the eyes of Clarence the wingless angel who happened to be a bright small star in the blackness of space.

As I matured in my faith and read verses describing what heaven is like I began to see that heaven was in deed a place with new life, trees, water, and radiant sunshine.

Recently, the movie, Heaven is Real, was released to the theaters. The movie is about Colton Burpo's trip to heaven when he nearly died when his appendix burst. The movie was based on the best selling book by that same title about his eyewitness accounts. I found this CNN interview with Colton credible when he was able to  describe the people he saw in the throne room of God as people that only his parents knew  from Colton's grandfather his dad referred to as Pops to the little girl that her mom miscarried.
  
For those of us who have experienced the loss of a loved one it is important that we understand what heaven will be like not  only so we can have peace of what our loved one is doing after they die, but also so we have enough of the back ground of scriptures to paint a picture to people of what heaven will be like so they can tell others the amazing reality of what Jesus Christ has done for them and the amazing place He went to prepare a place for us. 

I think these eye witness accounts of what Heaven is going to be like for us as believers is meant to give us peace that heaven is more than just a cartoon like existence of strumming a harp on a cloud. It is a place where there is no more sorrow, no more tears. It is an actual place involving celebrations, food, trees, nature, water and cities.  This is a place where our loved ones are. It is a place that awakes for us when our journey is finished.


.