Worn Heaven?

The first question I want to pose is: Do things get worn or faded in Heaven? Regardless of what you believe, let us suppose for a moment that heaven is an actual place that exists after you die. A place that is perfect and free from pain, a place that is the ultimate reward for a toilsome life, the finish line to a marathon-type race. In this perfect place, which you have probably imagined at some point this week, the sky seems brighter, the colors more vibrant, the water more pure.

Will there be buildings that seem endlessly tall? Will you wear clothes made from unimaginable fabrics? Will you play instruments that never go out of tune?

In regards to my first question, will these tall buildings ever show signs of wear? Will the brick become weathered and show age? Will the clothes you wear become faded? Will you have to make or purchase new ones? Will the wood on your guitar become scratched from your fervent strumming?

The reason that I ask this question is because I like the wear of our things. I like it when my favorite hat becomes bleached by the sun, when my shoes get covered in mud and when there begins to be a hole in my guitar. I like these things because it shows me that I have lived. It shows me that I have traveled outside my home, that I have hiked in the woods and that I have practiced chords so frequently that I have worn a hole in my instrument.

These tattered, threadbare garments we wear each day tell of time passing, of growing old.

An Ebenezer in the bible is a tall grouping rocks erected in order to show something that God has done.  That way, when people pass by the makeshift statue, they can remember a moment when God moved in their life or in their community’s life.

I like to think of the worn and the faded somethings as little Ebenezers, reminding us of where we have been and how far we have come.

Will we grow wiser in heaven? Can we become smarter or do we have all the information when we get there? Will we be virtuosos on every instrument immediately? Or will we have to learn and practice like we do now?

I just heard a sermon on how God’s rewards for us are directly related to the work we did. The pastor explained that God’s rewards are like practicing and learning German tirelessly for years and years. And then going to Germany and being able to converse with locals and read their classic literature and write songs in their language.

I am not sure if things get worn in heaven. Things might never lose their luster or shine for all eternity, and I’m ok with that. Because I believe that we will still grow in heaven; only God might have a different way of showing us where we have been.

“We took the twine we used to use to tie up tight our tattered shoes twisted twigs and crooked cross a necklace for the deeply lost Builder with the broken bricks mother to the baby chicks you made this world to look so nice I wonder what the next one’s like?”  – mewithoutYou