I’ve been to a lot of funerals over the years, and one of the things that still surprises me to this day is how heaven is described at funerals.  I never seem to hear anything like what is written in scripture.  And that is sad.  A funeral is an opportunity to say some pretty good things about heaven.  And good “sounding” things are said, but are they correct?  I also realize it is a time when people are sad, and funerals often take place shortly after a person has died, so it’s understandable that things were thrown together rather quickly.  If people had more time to prepare, they may have done things differently.

What People Say

What is said at any particular funeral is usually based on the person who died.  If their spouse predeceased them, we might hear something like, “____________(the spouse) will be there waiting to see them.”  We might hear about other relatives who will finally be reunited in death, just as they had been united in life.  We might hear about other loved ones they will finally get to see again.  If they liked the outdoors and mountains, for example, then mountains will be there for them when they get to heaven.  All of this makes those left behind feel better.  I mean, after all, someone just died.  Everyone at the funeral is deeply hurt by the passing of the dearly departed.  But a funeral is a time for reflection(Eccl. 7:2).  It is a time to think about the fact that each of us will one day be on the other side of a funeral, so to speak(Heb. 9:27).  This can be a wonderful opportunity, in the midst of sorrow and sadness, to help people think about life . . . death . . . and heaven.  But if what we say is wrong, we mislead people, and that’s never a good thing.

What God Tells Us About Heaven

There is surprisingly little in the Bible about what heaven is like.  The most common information provided about heaven is that it is where God is(Deut. 26:15; Rev. 4:2).  I’m not suggesting that other information wouldn’t be nice, but isn’t that really all we need to know about heaven?  If God is there, what else matters?  We also see elders(Rev. 4:4) and four living creatures(Rev. 4:6) praising God.  There are a lot of angels(Rev. 5:11) and Jesus(Rev. 5:6).  There are other “things,” like a street of gold, pearls, the tree of life and living water(Rev. 21-22).  This is not meant to be an exhaustive list, but you get the idea.

In terms of what is going on in heaven, the main thing appears to be the worship of God(Rev. 4-5).  This makes sense because, well . . . He’s God!  Wouldn’t worshipping God, especially when He is right in front of you, seem to be the natural response?  If you make it to heaven, isn’t that only possible because of God’s sacrifice(Heb. 9:27-28; 10:10).  I’m not suggesting that you don’t have anything to do, but the sacrifice of Jesus was essential for anyone’s salvation.

What Should We Say About Heaven?

I am not about to tell anyone what they should or should not say about heaven, other than it should be based on what we know from the Bible.  It seems to me that when we speak about heaven, whether or not someone just died, first and foremost, we need to mention God being there.  And HE is the focus of everyone’s attention . . . not me or you.  The number of times I have been at a funeral, and it sounded like the dearly departed was going to be the star attraction in heaven is quite sad, not to mention disrespectful of God.  When you consider God, Who is holy, and we treat Him in a common manner, the Bible calls that blasphemy(Ex. 20:7 and Lev. 24:13-16 speak of blasphemy against God).  We need to avoid this at all costs, even if it’s unintentional or because we just weren’t thinking about it.  In short, we need to do better.  We need to make sure we are respecting God as we should, and as He deserves.