What Will Our Bodies Be Like?

What Will Our Bodies Be Like?

We are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior. He will take these weak mortal bodies of ours and change them into glorious bodies like his own, using the same mighty power that he will use to conquer everything, everywhere. –Philippians 3:20-21

The grave is, for me, a difficult place. Sometimes people have tried to comfort me by reminding me that Hope and Gabe are not in that grave—that they are in heaven. I know what they are saying—but my children’s bodies are in that grave and I loved their bodies! Not only are their bodies precious to me, they are precious to God. Bodies must matter to God because he will use the seed of our earthly bodies to make for us bodies fit for heaven. Somehow he will take from the matter that has been long buried or spread on the sea or in the wind and fashion it into something glorious.

In his glorified body following his own resurrection, Jesus defied the natural laws of time and space, and yet he looked like a man—talking, eating, and showing Thomas the nail scars in his hands—the only scars that will still be visible in heaven. While we can’t imagine what we will be like when we are given our glorified bodies, we do know that “when he comes we will be like him” (1 John 3:2). We will not float around without a body. Like Jesus’ glorified body, we will have all the familiar physical features.

We know that everything will be new and everything will be perfect. Nothing will be broken or decayed or scarred by the injuries and affliction life brings. We will not be limited by old grudges, painful memories, or declining health. Our redeemed bodies will be free of cancer cells, joint pain, unwanted pounds, and disabled limbs. Our bodies will be remade for glorified minds that understand the mysteries of the universe and purified hearts that are free of bitterness and resentment, selfishness and suspicion.

And we can be confident we will recognize those we love. In fact, our perfected hearts and minds will enable us to know them in a richer, fuller way than we ever knew them on earth. We’ll have no desire to hide behind masks or barriers. We will see each other as God intended us to be all along, before sin had its way in our hearts and bodies.

Re-Creator, how you will take the bodies we have now and transform them into glorious bodies fit for an eternity in heaven is mysterious, but it is a holy and hopeful mystery.

DIGGING DEEPER