I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God. . . .

— Revelation 21:2

Heaven. The home of God and the angels. By God’s grace, we hope to go there when we die. But heaven is not where we belong. Earth is. And in the end, we will have resurrected bodies for a new life on the new earth. Because earth and bodies go together.

For now, though, we go to heaven to be with Jesus when we die. We leave our bodies in the ground or maybe in ashes. And we go to heaven without them.

With Jesus it is different, though. After Jesus died and rose again, he went to be with his Father in heaven—and he went there in his body. By his resurrection, Jesus began a new life in a resurrected body. And that’s how he went to heaven. He lifted up his hands to bless his disciples, and in the next moment he was lifted up to heaven—all of him.

Think about that. A complete human being, in heaven, with arms and legs and all the rest. Apparently the resurrection body is suitable for life on earth and in heaven. That’s amazing, and it’s a good thing. Because in the end, heaven and earth will be united. And that’s where our new life will be, in resurrected bodies, with Jesus.

Jesus, we’re in no hurry to die. But we can’t wait to be with you—not just in heaven but on a new earth. What a day that will be! Amen.