I would suspect that the general concept of heaven is pretty universal. While it might be called something different depending on a person's religion or belief system, the idea of a place where humans will live once this life is over is understood by most, regardless of whether they believe such a place actually exists or not. For the Christian, Heaven represents eternal existence with our Creator, free from the effects or influence of sin. Heaven should be the home they ultimately long for and a motivation to help them live a life honoring to God. Unfortunately, this is often not the case. Part of the problem is that most Christians have, at best, a vague understanding of what Heaven will be like, and most stereotypical imagery (i.e. featureless sky filled with clouds and pearly gates) is, at best, misleading if not outright incorrect. Elyse Fitzpatrick, in her book Home: How Heaven And The New Earth Satisfy Our Deepest Longings, attempts to offer Christians a biblical picture of what life after this life will be like and instill in them a renewed excitement for what eternity has to offer.

Relying heavily on scripture, Fitzpatrick approaches this task in two ways: by showing how Heaven differs from our current life and by how it will be similar. Heaven's differences relate to our longings and dissatisfaction with our current situation on earth. We live our lives always striving for something better than what we have: more money, the perfect career, a nicer home, more "toys." Even people who are truly content with what they have or what they do often still desire more time to complete the tasks they started, do the things they enjoy, or simply relax. However, should one ever achieve these goals, it isn't long before they feel unsatisfied once again and start looking for something else to fill the gnawing void inside of them. On top of all this are bodies that grow sick, age, and cause pain, making our very existence something less than desirable.

Fitzpatrick believes this dissatisfaction is by design or at least a byproduct of this earth. While God does desire good things for his creation, He does not want us to get so comfortable that we settle for less then all the amazing and unfathomable things He has to offer us. If we grow too comfortable with this world we are in danger of up like the Israelites who wanted to return to Egypt instead of venturing forth for vast lands and opportunities God had prepared for them in Canaan. (Numbers 14:1-4) Heaven will satisfy us in many ways. All that we own, our homes and possessions, will be more glorious than anything we could ever have in this life and they will never decay or wear out. All our relationships will be fulfilling and unbroken, honest and free from sinful desires and deceit. Our bodies will be whole and un-hurting, immune to any sickness or disease. And time will be unending. We can accomplish and experience anything we want without limits.

While different in many ways from our current lives, Fitzpatrick is quick to explain that Heaven will be a place that is familiar to us, not foreign. She starts off by using Biblical imagery to develop a picture of what we can expect. For example, she uses John's description of the city of New Jerusalem in the book of Revelations to help us begin to imagine our eternal home. Acknowledging that these descriptions are apt to contain a lot of symbolism, the author references dimensions, materials, features, and populations found in John's writings to create a literal version of the City. She also explains why the concept of a city is appropriate, going into detail about how people relate to a city and the city, in turn, meets their needs. Once again, the point is not to imply that this is an accurate physical depiction of Heaven, but instead to demonstrate how vast and magnificent our new home will be and how it is sufficient to meet all our longings and desires.

Speaking of which, what will we be doing in the new Heavens and the New Earth? I think this question might be one of the greatest obstacles to us having a grand expectation for what is to come. As Fitzpatrick states in her book, while she longs to be with her LORD in Paradise, the stereotypical or traditional views of heaven do not embody the existence for which she is longing. To offset this, she attempts to give us a better understanding of how life in our new home may look. Once again, the key is our current desires and dissatisfactions. If you are parched and thirsty and looking for an ice-cold glass of water, a hot fudge sundae, no matter how tasty it might be, would be an unsatisfying substitute. The same goes for our earthly desires. If God puts a particular longing in your heart that cannot be satisfied in this life, it is reasonable to believe that in Heaven we will be satisfied in a way that relates directly to that particular longing.

I first heard about Home in an interview with Elyse Fitzpatrick on the Steve Brown Etc. podcast. What caught my attention was Fitzpatrick's suppositions of what our eternal existence would be like. We may choose to explore deep theological topics with Paul, Martin Luther, C. S. Lewis or any other great theologian that ever existed. If we long to travel, we will be able to visit ancient cities, climb the Alps, dive the ocean depths, or rocket off to other worlds and galaxies. We can feast on the best food and drink the sweetest wine. We might even play video games that exceed our imaginations (and possibly even be a part of them). Best of all, we will never have to cease since time is no longer a factor. [1]

Of course, there will be worship. We will be with our God who made it all possible. How can we not worship! Yes, there will be formal worship, but everything we do will be part of our worship since worship is simply the act of giving praise to God for all He has given us.

Any attempts to imagine that which is unimaginable are fraught with many dangers. Those attempts might be insufficient, challenged, or outright incorrect. However, I believe Elyse Fitzpatrick has taken great care to offer a picture of the New Heaven and New Earth that at least begins to take away some of the mystery of what is to come and gives us something to excite the Christian about their future. I know for me, after reading this book, I have a renewed anticipation for my Eternal Home and I am at least a bit more content with my current life.

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[1] For further discussion about how this is all possible, I would recommend Hugh Ross' book Beyond the Cosmos: The Transdimenionality of God.