Would it still be Heaven?

Would it still be Heaven if Christ was not there? Is our perception of Heaven our “Happy Place,” or is it the dominion of all things good and righteous? It is a holy place on a hill where we show appreciation for all God has done, or is it the better of two alternatives? Would it still be Heaven if our creator and savior were absent?

If there were no hell, the loss of Heaven would be Hell. – C.H. Spurgeon

If a tree falls in the middle of the forest and no one is around, does it make a sound?

In this case, a falling tree would generate vibrations in the air that we perceive as sound if an observer were nearby. Some argue that sound is a phenomenon that exists independently of human perception, while others suggest that it requires a perceiving mind to interpret and define it.

If you could have all the attributes of Heaven, but Christ was not there, would you still want Heaven? You could have a life for eternity without pain, suffering, hunger, fear, disease, depression, or guilt. You would be in the eternal presence of all your loved ones, fully healed physically and mentally. But there would be no Christ. Would it still be Heaven? Does Heaven exist independent of human perception of salvation?

The first two legs of this stool are: is there a God, and does eternity exist?

Is There a God?

We have crossed this bridge many times. God makes His presence evident through His creation. Through His creation, we should seek Him, and in seeking Him, find Christ.

Job 12:7-10, "But ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds in the sky, and they will tell you; or speak to the earth, and it will teach you, or let the fish in the sea inform you. Which of all these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this? In his hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind."

God makes finding Him very simple. Ask the animals, birds, and fish, and they will teach you. Those who read my posts know that I love the outdoors. It is where I feel the closest to God because I see tangible evidence of His existence. Try to understand the universe; you must expect at least a sovereign power.

Side note:  The observable universe, the part we can see and measure, is estimated to be about 93 billion light-years in diameter. There are 5.88×10¹² miles in one light year.

Does Eternity Exist?

Eternity is a complex question for humans because of our limited knowledge. For example, the Hafele-Keating experiment placed precise atomic clocks on fast-moving airplanes or in high gravitational fields and showed time differences compared to clocks at rest. Even the Big Bang Theory does not deal with time before the Big Bang; it deals only with the time associated with the creation of our known universe.

So, does eternity exist? My uneducated answer is that we have yet to discover limiting factors to time. We don’t know what we don’t know, but we know that time extends longer than we can conceive. Weird question to ponder: what are the implications of time being finite? What would happen if time stopped? One of the critical aspects of time is that it measures movement. Would movement stop? If movement stops, does thought stop?

The bigger question is, does time stop for me? Is death the end of my time? Do I cease to exist in any form? God made this promise to us.

1 John 2:25, "This is the promise which He Himself made to us: eternal life."

If you accept that there is a God, you should accept what he says as accurate. Any entity that can create the universe, and much more not seen by us, has no reason to lie to mere humans. It would serve no purpose.

2 Corinthians 4:18, "while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal."

Time is the invisible hand of existence. If you do not believe you have an eternal soul, then believing in salvation is impossible. What would God be saving you for?

What Were we created for?

Today’s last leg of the stool is: if there is a God and He saved me for eternity, why?

Romans 11:36, "For everything comes from him and exists by his power and is intended for his glory. All glory to him forever!"

1 Corinthians 10:31, "So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God."

Matthew 5:16, "In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven."

He created us to glorify Him. Plain and simple. Everything Christians achieve in life is a byproduct of glorifying God. You do good deeds to glorify Christ. Sharing the gospel is a form of glorification.

Would it still be Heaven?

“For the Christian, Heaven is where Jesus is. We do not need to speculate on what Heaven will be like. It is enough to know that we will be forever with Him.” – William Barclay.

The simple answer is No. You might be disappointed if you look forward to Heaven to avoid Hell. Heaven gets its value not in avoiding an endless dark void but in celebrating the glory of our creator and savior. Nothing else will do.