Remembering And Recognizing

Remembering and Recognizing

Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. . . . [We] will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage each other with these words.

— 1 Thessalonians 4:13, 17-18

A great multitude of dear ones is there expecting us; a vast and mighty crowd of parents, brothers, and children, secure now of their own safety, anxious yet for our salvation, long that we may come to their right and embrace them, to that joy which will be common to us and to them.^a

— THE VENERABLE BEDE

When we get to Heaven, one writer claims, “We will not even remember this old world we call Earth, . . . nor will we even recall it! It simply will not come into our minds.”^b

This misperception is widely believed, but the Bible says no such thing!

Memory is basic to personality. The principle of redemptive continuity indicates that we will remember our past lives. Heaven cleanses our slate of sin and error, but it doesn’t erase our memory of it. The lessons we learned here about God’s love, grace, and justice surely aren’t lost but will carry over to Heaven. Father Boudreau states, “For the sins which so often made us tremble, are washed away in the blood of Jesus, and are, therefore, no longer a source of trouble. The remembrance of them rather intensifies our love for the God of mercy, and therefore increases our happiness.”^c

Isaiah 65:17 is often cited as proof that in the eternal state we won’t remember our present lives: “Behold, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind.” However, this verse should be viewed in context. It’s linked to the previous verse, in which God says, “The past troubles will be forgotten and hidden from my eyes.” This doesn’t suggest literal lack of memory, as if the omniscient God couldn’t recall the past. Rather, it’s like God saying, “I will . . . remember their sins no more” (Jeremiah 31:34). It doesn’t mean that God has a mental lapse but that he chooses not to bring up our past sins or hold them against us. In eternity, former sins and sorrows won’t preoccupy God or us. We’ll be capable of choosing not to recall or dwell on anything that would diminish Heaven’s joy. That is not the same as having our memories disappear and our relationships dissolve.

If we forget we were desperate sinners, how could we appreciate the depth and meaning of Christ’s redemptive work for us?

We’ll never forget that our sins nailed Jesus to the cross; for Christ’s resurrection body still has nail-scarred hands and feet (John 20:24-29). Even though God will wipe away the tears and sorrow attached to this world, he will not erase human history and Christ’s intervention from our minds. As I’ve said before, Heaven’s happiness won’t be dependent on our ignorance of what happened on Earth. Rather, it will be enhanced by perspective, our informed appreciation of God’s glorious grace and justice as we grasp what really happened here.

The Greek word for truth, aletheia, is a negated form of the verb “to forget,” so that knowing the truth means to stop forgetting. On the New Earth, there will be memorials to the twelve tribes and the apostles (Revelation 21:12-14). This indicates continuity and memory of history. If we’re aware of other past events on the old Earth, surely we’ll be aware of our own.

When asked if we would recognize friends in Heaven, George MacDonald responded, “Shall we be greater fools in Paradise than we are here?”^d

Yet many people wonder whether we’ll know each other in Heaven. It’s a question I’m often asked—but why? Because of the pervasiveness of Christoplatonism, which teaches that the spiritual is incompatible with the physical. But Christ, in his incarnation and resurrection, laid claim not only to the spiritual realm but to the physical realm as well. His redemption wasn’t only of spirits but also of bodies and of the earth. The false assumption behind the question of whether we’ll recognize loved ones in Heaven is that we’ll be disembodied spirits who lose our identities and memories—and how would someone recognize a spirit?

Christ’s disciples recognized him countless times after his resurrection. They recognized him on the shore as he cooked breakfast for them (John 21). They recognized him when he appeared to a skeptical Thomas (John 20:24-29). They recognized him when he appeared to five hundred people at once (1 Corinthians 15:6).

At Christ’s transfiguration, his disciples identified Moses and Elijah, even though they couldn’t have known what they looked like (Luke 9:29-33). Scripture gives no indication of a memory wipe that would cause us not to recognize family and friends. Paul anticipated being with the Thessalonians in Heaven, and it never occurred to him that he wouldn’t know them or recognize them. In fact, if we wouldn’t know our loved ones, the “comfort” of an afterlife reunion, taught in 1 Thessalonians 4:14-18, would be no comfort at all.

Missionary Amy Carmichael had strong convictions on this question:

Shall we know one another in Heaven? Shall we love and remember? I do not think anyone need wonder about this or doubt for a single moment. . . . For if we think for a minute, we know. Would you be yourself if you did not love and remember? . . . We are told that we shall be like our Lord Jesus. Surely this does not mean in holiness only, but in everything; and does not He know and love and remember? He would not be Himself if He did not, and we should not be ourselves if we did not.^e

Whom do you look forward to seeing again in Heaven? Do you think you’ll have a hard time recognizing or remembering them? Do you suppose your memory will be worse, or better?

How might God be glorified through our memories?

Father, thank you that we have every reason to look forward to recognizing and remembering our family and friends in Heaven and rejoicing together in your presence for the lives we shared and the trials we faced together. In that day we will see with clarity your purposes and know without a doubt your goodness and love in the midst of the hard times of loss and confusion and grief we experienced on this earth. Lord, remind us that every good-bye to a loved one who knows you is not the end of our relationship but only an interruption, to be followed by a glorious reunion and grateful remembrance of our shared lives.