God’s Happily Ever After
You’ll Never Read One of These Posts Again
Heaven in Hollywood
The movie What Dreams May Come will forever be a part of how I picture heaven. The love story follows Robin Williams (Chris) and Annabella Sciorra (Annie) in their pursuit of love beyond death. The entire film is visually stunning, but the iconic scene is when Chris wakes up in his corner of heaven. He finds himself immersed in his wife’s painting—flowers, sky, water—all rendered in thick oil paints and vivid colors. The whole movie is a feast for the eyes and perfectly captures whatever earthly dreams I had of heaven.
Of course, the movie is a far cry from what heaven truly is. But the wonder and amazement it created in me hit on something true: there is a place full of beauty, joy, and eternal, perfect relationships. This is a place I have longed for.
If only we could glimpse what waits for us there, even for a moment. What would we see? One thing I know: There is no need for faith or hope in heaven. We won’t walk by faith—we’ll walk by sight. I’ll never “go to church” because I’ll be surrounded by God. The Bible’s imagery says God Himself will be our eternal Sun, never setting. And thank you, Jesus: I will never again confess my sin. Another bonus? You’ll never have to read one of these posts again.
In heaven, we will be in perfect union with God, as He intended. That’s why I’m so glad we saved this line for last at the end of the Apostles’ Creed: “I believe in the life everlasting.”
God’s Happily Ever After
Eternity is a long time… a really long time. Forever is hard to imagine, and to some, the never-ending nature of heaven might even sound… boring.
What will we do forever? Some assume heaven is only full of earthly pursuits; some think we can even, somehow, complete it. After you swim the Pacific and hike Everest, what’s left? Heaven starts to sound like earth again, where even the grandest things get old. Disney is fun for about 3.5 days, then I’m ready to go home. Will unending beauty eventually feel like tax season, the DMV, or folding infinite laundry?
But let’s tap into our childhood wonder. We write heaven at the end of almost every classic children’s book: Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, and Jack and the Beanstalk.
Each story is filled with danger, conflict, and triumph. But how do most fairy tales end?
“They lived happily ever after.”
– Household Tales by the Brothers Grimm
“I have thought of a nice ending for it: and he lived happily ever after to the end of his days.”
– The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
“And nothing ever troubled them again, and they lived in peace.”
– The Frog Prince by the Brothers Grimm
“And from that day on, their lives were filled with joy and song.”
– The Snow Queen by Hans Christian Andersen
“God’s people had life everlasting.”
– The Bible (my paraphrase)
The idea that eternity might be boring is a concept created by a sinful mind. Heaven will never be boring. In fact, in God’s country, we’ll forget what the word boring even means.
Ten Thousand Years
Instead, we’ll sing: (John Newton’s "Amazing Grace" c. 1779)
“When we’ve been there ten thousand years,
Bright shining as the sun,
We’ve no less days to sing God’s praise
Than when we first begun.”
God’s happily ever after is freely given to all who believe and trust in Jesus Christ, to all who receive the Holy Spirit, and to all who seek the Heavenly Father.
But those who choose their own path, reject the Savior, and worship themselves will also experience eternity, just not life. We say, “Life is hard.” We have no idea—eternal hardship, eternal desperation, eternal punishment… the rotten life, forever.
So I would beg you to choose life, with Jesus’ words from John 14:
“In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?
And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.”
Confession of Sin in Prayer
Father, we confess that we’ve called your eternal life boring and chased lesser joys. Forgive us for doubting your beauty and distrusting your promises. Through Jesus, give us a heart that longs for heaven and delights in you forever.
Thanks for praying! God bless you. We’ll read and pray again next Saturday at 8:30 a.m.