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"Heaven - Will we remember our lives on earth?"
| John Hoole | September 14, 2003 |
For several weeks, we have been investigating what the Bible says about Heaven. I have come to realize that there is more about heaven, in the Bible, than I have ever contemplated. We have look at what the Bible says about some questions we have with regard to heaven. Questions like:
o What will we do in heaven?o singing & worshiping
o serving;
o supervising & reigning;
o studying & learning;
o sharing & fellowshipping.o Does time exist in heaven? - Answer: Yes
o Will there ever be sin in heaven? - Answer: No
o Will we be male and female in heaven? - Answer: Yes
o Will there be animals in heaven? - Answer: Yes; Our pet? No so sure
o Will we all be equal in heaven? -
Answer: Yes, in that we will be equally loved by God.
No, in that we will not all be exactly alike.o What kind of body will we have in heaven? - Answer: They will be a real, physical body, like Christ's after his resurrection.
o Will we eat in heaven? - Answer: Yes
o Will we see God in heaven? - Answer: Yes
o Will we recognize each other in heaven - Answer: Yes
Last week we looked at the great family reunions that will take place in heaven. This is one of the benefits of recognizing each other. One thing we have come to understand in some of the questions we have already addressed, is that they require us to remember, at least in part, our lives when we were on earth. As an example, to be able to recognize a person in heaven requires us to remember things we knew about that person while alive on earth. It could be their physical features, their mannerism, the way they talk, the way they laugh, etc.
Today, I would like to expand this thought of what we might remember in heaven about our lives on earth. Will we be allowed to remember only parts of our lives here? Or will we remember all the bad as well as the good in our mortal lives.
Let me tell you a story. Radio evangelist Charles E. Fuller announced that he would speak the following Sunday on "Heaven." During that week he received a letter from an elderly man who was ill and often listened to Charles Fuller on the radio. Here is part of that letter.
"I understand next Sunday you are going to talk about 'Heaven.' I am interested in that because I have held a clear title to a bit of property there for over 55 years. I did not buy it. It was given to me without money and without price. But the donor purchased it for me at a tremendous sacrifice. I am not holding it for speculation since the title is nontransferable. It is not a vacant lot."For more that a half-century I have been sending material out of which the greatest architect and builder of the universe has been building a home for me, which will never need to be repaired because it will suit me perfectly, individually, and will never grow old. Termites can never undermine its foundation for it rests upon the Rock of Ages. Fire cannot destroy it. Floods cannot wash it away. No locks or bolts will ever be placed upon its doors, for no vicious person can ever enter that land where my dwelling stands, now almost completed and ready for me to enter it and live eternally without fear of losing my new house ever.
"There is a valley of deep shadows between the place where I live now and the new one I shall journey to in a very short time. To get there I will be passing through the dark valley of shadows. But I won't be afraid, because my best friend Jesus went through the same valley a long time ago and made it safe for me. He has stuck by me through thick and thin since we first met and became acquainted. At that time he promised never to leave me alone.
"I hope to hear your sermon on 'Heaven" next Sunday from my home, but I'm not sure I will be able to do so. My ticket to heaven has no date marked for the journey…no return coupon….and no permit for baggage. I am ready to go and may not be here while you are talking next Sunday, but we shall meet together there some day."
Wow! What a story! And he ends his letter with the thought that he will meet and recognize Charles Fuller in heaven. He was looking forward to that reunion. But, just how much of our current lives will be carried over from earth to heaven? Is it more than the ability to recognized family and friends?
We know there are going to be some major changes in our lives when we transfer residence from earth to glory.
o All sicknesses and scars from this life will be gone forever.o Quality of life makes a major leap for the good.
o Our bodies will not wear down or get tired or die.
o We will be able to eat, but won't have to - Luke 24:30
o God's name will be on our foreheads. - Revelation 22:4
o There will be absolutely no pain or sorrow - Revelation 21:4
But there are some things that we will take with us to heaven when we rise to meet the Lord in the air. There is some continuity between this life at the life we will have in heaven.
WHAT THINGS IN OUR LIFE WILL WE RETAIN IN HEAVEN?
THEY MAY BE GREATLY ENHANCED ONCE WE ARE IN HEAVEN, BUT THEY ARE PART OF OUR LIVES WHICH WILL SHOW SOME CONTINUITY FROM THIS LIFE TO OUR LIVES IN HEAVEN.Another way to state this question is to ask, "what happens to us at the point of transition from this life to the next?" What changes occur between the moment you die and 5 seconds later?
I think there are a number of things showing continuity between our mortal lives and the lives we will have in heaven.
1. You are going to be the same person.
It is not some other person that arrives on heaven's shores. It is you and me. Now, of course, we are different in the sense that we have a different way of living. We do have a new nature, but even that began here at our conversion. We are not sinner anymore, nor do we have a sinful nature. But it is you standing before the crowd which is there to welcome you. In heaven, we will still be the same persons. We will not forget who we are. Scriptures teach that man as man, and renewed man as renewed man, goes into eternity.
Job 19:26 (NIV) prophecies:
26 And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God.The continuity between Christ's earthly and heavenly body was clear to see. They viewed the nail scarred hands. Except for a couple instances where He eluded their recognition, people recognized him immediately. It was Jesus, in the flesh, that met the disciples and others following his resurrection. Yes, his flesh was glorified and would never die again, but it was He in his flesh. If it wasn't the same flesh as before He died, then why did his body need to be resurrected.
In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul points out that our present physical bodies will be raised. Beginning in verse 42, Paul says IT is sown a perishable body. What is "IT?" "IT" is your earthly physical body.
"It is sown a perishable body,
It is raised an imperishable body;
It is sown in dishonor,
It is raised in glory;
It is sown in weakness,
It is raised in power;
It is sown a natural body,
It is raised a spiritual body."In the same way that it was really Jesus who stood among the disciples after his resurrection, you, in your flesh, will be standing before God in heaven. Our future body will be like Christ's resurrection body.
2. We remain fully conscious in heaven
This continuity is related to the first one. According to 2 Corinthians 5:8, believers go directly into the presence of Christ at their death and they are conscious and in command of all of their faculties. Our body dies and it loses its abilities, but you will be totally conscious and aware of your surrounds.
2 Corinthians 5:1, 6-8 (NIV)
1 Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands.6 Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord.
7 We live by faith, not by sight.
8 We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord.One moment we are living on earth, and the next finds us feeling right at home in heaven with the Lord.
Revelation 6:9-10 (NKJV) adds:
9 He opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held.
10 And they cried with a loud voice, saying, "How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?"These martyrs continued to be fully conscious in heaven immediately following their death. We, likewise, will be conscious as we make the transition from this mortal life to that which we will have in heaven. At no time will you lose your faculties.
3. Personal love will continue from here to heaven.
The people we love here will still be our loved ones in heaven. Your love will continue and grow when you arrive in heaven. We will no doubt lose interest in many things that attracted us on earth. It is hard to imagine, for instance, talking about a favorite television program, not because it would be evil, but because it would be so trivial, irrelevant and dull. But surely we won't lose interest in the things of earth that mattered, some of which were lighthearted and others deep and profound. These are part of the shared experience of loving relationships. Such adventures forge a camaraderie like that of soldiers who've served beside each other in the trenches. They never forget what they experienced together in that foreign land. Neither, I think, will we forget fighting spiritual battles in the trenches of earth.
I can envision us sitting around a campfire in heaven telling stories of the truly exciting times on earth. Those times when we turned to our heavenly Commander and trusted him to guide and sustain us on the long march. We will remember those moments when we leaned heavily on our Christian comrades for strength where we tended to each others needs and carried and guided each other across the battlefields. We will remember the times when we basked in the company of family and friends, fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household (Eph. 2:19)
By the way, if you can't imagine sitting around a campfire telling stories in heaven, why not? This will be but one way of expressing our love in heaven for those we loved on earth.
What did the apostle Paul say at the end of the love chapter of the Bible - 1 Corinthians 13? In 1 Corinthians 13:13, he said:
Now abides faith, hope and love, but the greatest of these is love.Have you ever wondered why "love" is the greatest of these three? Could it be that only love is eternal? Once we are in heaven, will we need hope and faith?
Romans 8:24 says about "hope," But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? That which we hoped for will be completely fulfilled in heaven. Therefore, we do not need to hope any longer.
Faith is somewhat similar to hope. That which we believed in, through faith, will be completed in the presence of Christ. Hebrews 12:2 tells us that Jesus is the "finisher of our faith." We know that eventually faith gives way to sight. We will see that which we have already gratefully accepted by faith.
But love continues throughout eternity. God's love continues in heaven. His love for us never diminishes one bit and our love for him will be enhanced as it blossoms fully. Our love for God and for those we have loved here will continue in heaven.
4. You will continue to feel emotions in heaven.
Undoubtedly, you will continue to have a personality like you have here on earth; but, of course, it will be fully sanctified. The expression of your emotions will be different than mine.
Psalm 16:11 NKJV
11 You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.A moment ago, I mentioned that our love, as well as God's, will continue in heaven. Love is more than an emotion, but it exhibits itself often through our emotions. Consider the joy of being in the presence of God while living here, and understand that our joy will expand in its exuberance at seeing Jesus face to face.
At some point in time, after arriving in heaven, the negative side of our emotions will be curtailed. That will occur when He wipes away all tears from our eyes (Revelation 7:17) There is going to be much joy and great rejoicing in heaven. Such rejoicing manifests itself, in part, through our personal emotional outbursts.
5. You will continue to be active in heaven.
Here on earth, God has uniquely gifted each one of us. By that, I am not speaking just about spiritual gifts, but about our unique talents, abilities, and the things we really love to do. No two of us are exactly alike.
I don't think these unique talents and abilities will cease when we arrive in heaven. I think God will continue to use those talents we have in heaven. Those that are music writers will continue. If you love to pursue things like being a writer, an artist, an explorer, that love will probably continue in heaven.
There are, however, some pursuits we have here that will not be needed in heaven. Since nothing will ever wear out or break down, we probably will not need mechanics and home repair people. We also probably will not need carpenters, and certainly no preachers of the gospel.
We are but saplings here, but we shall be transported into our heavenly soil to grow in God's light. Here, our abilities are in blossom - there they shall bust forth with fruit of great beauty. Our physical death is but the passing from one degree of loving service to another.
So far we have identified 5 areas of continuity from this mortal life to that of eternal life.
1. You, as a person, will continue from here into eternity.
2. We remain fully conscious from this life to that in heaven.
3. Your love will continue and be greatly expanded from here to heaven.
4. You will continue to have personality and emotions when you arrive on that heavenly shore.
5. You will continue to be active in the expression of your talents and pursuits.The last thing that will have continuity as we leave here and arrive in heaven is one that has been at the core of our last several lessons.
6. You will continue to remember in heaven.
Personal knowledge we have here on earth will continue in heaven. We will continue, at least in part, to maintain some memory of our life here on earth.
1 Corinthians 13:12 tells us:
12 For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known.We will remember things that were part of our life on earth. And this verse tells us that we will understand those events and things much more clearly. And those we know here, we will know even more fully in heaven.
But, just how much of our earthly life will we be able to remember. And, if it is more than being able to recognize our friends and loved ones, how much more? And will it include not only the good things of this life, but also the less pleasant things we experienced on earth. Or what about things we did that were sinful? Will we remember all those?
WHEN WE GET TO HEAVEN, WHAT WILL WE REMEMBER ABOUT OUR LIFE ON EARTH?
What, if anything, does Scripture say about the perpetuation of memory in heaven? Before we can continue to inquire what the Bible says about retaining our memory of earth in heaven, we need to tackle a passage that many take to indicate there is no such memory in heaven. One verse is often cited as proof that we will not be able to remember our lives on earth.
Isaiah 65:17 (NKJV) says:
17 For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; and the former shall not be remembered or come to mind.First of all, a verse like this needs to be weighed against the rest of the Bible. To help us do that, let me point you to a passage and ask you a question. In Revelation 21, we find descriptions and details of the New Jerusalem.
In Verse 12, we are told there are twelve gates to the city, and on each gate will be inscribed the name of the 12 tribes of Israel.
In Verse 14, we are told there are 12 foundations for the wall around the city and on each foundation is inscribed each of the 12 apostles.
WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF THESE INSCRIPTIONS?
This is obviously a memorial. But the whole point of a memorial is to cause us to remember. God wants us to remember the twelve tribes and the apostles, for who they are and what they did on earth.
This is but one of many, many example where the Bible encourages or invites us to remember what happened on earth. So, the key to understanding what Isaiah 65:17 says, is to compare it to other Scriptures. And the key to understanding this verse, as is the case in understanding any verse, is to look at its immediate context. The 17th verse flows directly from the 16th, which reads:
Isaiah 65:16-17 (NIV)
16 Whoever invokes a blessing in the land will do so by the God of truth; he who takes an oath in the land will swear by the God of truth. For the past troubles will be forgotten and hidden from my eyes.
17 For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; and the former shall not be remembered or come to mind.These verses tell us that it is God who is the primary party doing the "forgetting." It is not talking about our memory being wiped clean. We should not, however, think this suggests that God has a poor memory. God knows everything.
Rather, it is like God saying, "I will remember their sins no more." (Jeremiah 31:34) The Bible often speaks of God's forgiveness by saying He for gets our sins. It means He will choose not to call to mind or to hold against us our past sins.We do somewhat the same thing at times. If someone does a wrong against me and I say, "Forget it!"……or "I won't give it a thought!" What I mean is not that the data will be erased from my brain, but rather, I won't dwell on it or hold it against them.
So, Isaiah 65:17 does not indicate that we will be unable to remember our lives on earth, but that God will not bring it to his mind.
As we have seen, in eternity, we will remember at least parts of our lives while on earth. But, I think it is safe to say, past sins and sufferings won't plague us, nor interfere with God's acceptance of us.
What, if anything does the Scripture say about the perpetuation of memory in heaven? Will heaven be a place where we wax nostalgic? Will our memories be more complete in heaven, or restored to a sharpness that we failed to utilize on earth? Will we have all earthly memories erased or only the bad ones removed? Will I forget coming to Christ? Will I forget marrying my wife? Will I forget how God used trials in my life to make me more Christlike? Will I forget the way he provided for us every day. Will I forget the strength He provided during difficult times? Will I forget the people God sent to make me laugh and cry?
I see absolutely no biblical reason why I would not remember these things. I see every reason why I would.
We have already noted, in this and past lessons, a couple of ways the Bible indicates we will retain our memory, at least in part.
1. The Bible promises we will recognize and know our loved ones in heaven. That can only occur if we are able to remember things about them while on earth.2. The names of the 12 apostles and the 12 tribes of Israel are inscribed on the 12 foundations and 12 gates respectively. We noted that this is to memorialize these groups, but to do so requires us to remember their contribution.
There are at least a seven more ways in which the Bible illustrates that in heaven we will, indeed, remember our lives when we lived on earth.
1. Praising and worshiping God in heaven
Revelation 5:12-13 (NIV)
12 In a loud voice they sang: "Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!"
13 Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, singing: "To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!"WHY WILL WE PRAISE AND WORSHIP GOD IN HEAVEN?
We do it primarily for two reasons:
1. We worship him for who He is.2. We worship him for what He has done. But, number 2 requires us to remember what He has done.
The Christian takes with him the greatest experience of his life - his encounter with God. What Christ has done for him and in him will never be forgotten. It will not just be a memory, but an ongoing reality. A Christian does not outgrow the moment when the Lord gave his life new direction, for the alteration and changes He made in my life is an eternal wonder.
In the life of the resurrected saint, it appears our memories of God's grace on earth will continue and sharpen. And it will be the impetus behind our praising and worshiping God in heaven. Some of the things we will be praising God for in heaven will be the help God gave us during very difficult experiences. But, to be able to praise God for those moments requires us to remember those difficult times. However, I don't believe we will relive those moments when we do remember them.
A woman once plagued by nightmares of an evil man who abused her will have the capacity not to be haunted by what he did to her. She will not relive the horror but she will remember the faithfulness of God and perhaps see for the first time the actions of God and the angels done on her behalf. She will also understand something we presently cannot, why He allowed it to happen.
Joseph saw in his lifetime why God allowed his brothers to sell him into slavery. This had to be terribly frightening to a young boy. But later in his life, he understood the purposes of God which were at work in his life.
In Genesis 50:20 (NKJV), Joseph said:
20 But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive.I am sure all of us have questions to ask God as to why we had to go through very difficult times. Like Joseph, some of us will recognize God's purpose while still living here. Others we will not understand until we arrive in Glory.
Once we understand God's purposes, we will see how faithful He really was, and we will praise and worship Him because of it. Recalling our earthly troubles will not depress us nor cause us to relive the events, but, rather, it will deepen our love for God and increase our joy. This worship and praise of God's faithfulness would be lost if our former sorrows and sinful state were literally forgotten. But we will remember His sacrifice and our being sinners in need of a Savior, and will praise Him forever because of that memory.
2. Rewards received in Heaven
The issue of rewards is found 106 times in 101 different verses in the Bible. It was Jesus who used the phrase, "great is your reward in heaven."
WHAT ARE REWARDS GIVEN FOR?
The whole idea of rewards requires memories to remain intact. Rewards are given to people for things they did. In this case, for things they did while alive on earth.
Revelation 14:13 NKJV
13 Then I heard a voice from heaven saying to me, "Write: 'Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.'" "Yes," says the Spirit, "that they may rest from their labors, and their works follow them."Our deeds follow us to heaven. Our specific acts of faithfulness on earth will survive the fire of judgment and be brought into heaven with us.
We are also told that in Heaven the wedding dress worn by the bride of Christ "stands for the righteous acts of the saints" done on earth (Revelation 19:7-8) The very clothes we wear in heaven will testify to what we did on earth.
Revelation 22:5 (NIV)
5 There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever.Each saint will be assigned different areas of rulership.
WHAT DETERMINES WHERE THEY WILL REIGN OR WHAT THEY WILL REIGN OVER?
They will be based on what we did on earth. So, again, what we did on earth is brought to mind. That wouldn't happen unless we remembered what we did while alive on earth.
Matthew 25:23 NKJV
23 His lord said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.'This verse tells us that the span of our reign will be based on what we did while still on earth. The positions of authority and the treasures awarded in heaven to the faithful will perpetually remind heaven's inhabitants - including us - of the lives we lived on earth. Again, we have a testimony from the Word of God that memory on earth will be taken with us to heaven.
3. Judgment requires memory
We are told in the Scripture that after we die, we will give an account of our lives on earth (Matt 12:36). From that thought, it is obvious we must remember the things we have done on earth. How else would we be able to give an account of them? In fact, considering the fact that in heaven we will have improved minds and clearer thinking, our memories of our earthly past should be more acute not less. We won't remember less of earth, but more.
Again, each of us will give an account of our lives to God. That is true whether we are saved or unsaved. As was stated in earlier lessons, neither the Judgment Seat of Christ (Bema) for the saved nor the Great While Throne Judgment for the sinner, are judgments to determine whether one is saved or lost. Both are a judgment of the things we did while alive on earth. They are each a judgment of works.
For the saved, 2 Corinthians 5:10 (NKJV) says:
10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.The works or deeds we did while alive in this body will be judged.
According to Revelation 20:13 (NKJV), at the Great White Throne, the sinners, are judged, each one according to his works.
The whole idea of rewards or punishment requires us to remember our lives on earth. How can you reward or punish a soul if they haven't the slightest idea of what they are being rewarded or punished for. I am not talking about some selected memory, but rather a detailed memory of our lives.
Matthew 12:36 NKJV
36 But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment.This shows that our memory will be quite detailed. If we have no memory of our lives here, how can we give an account of our lives? And how or why would God reward or punish someone who has no memory of his life on earth, and who has no idea what he is being rewarded or punished for?
4. Martyrs in heaven remember their lives on earth
Revelation 6:9-11 NKJV
9 When He opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held.
10 And they cried with a loud voice, saying, "How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?"
11 Then a white robe was given to each of them; and it was said to them that they should rest a little while longer, until both the number of their fellow servants and their brethren, who would be killed as they were, was completed.The martyrs in heaven mention in this passage clearly remember what happened on earth, including the great suffering they underwent. They also remembered those who murdered them, and are aware that God has not yet avenged their death. Verse 11 also tells us that Christ keeps the martyrs informed of the state of affairs on earth. He tells them of events still future - "others will be killed like they were."
5. The rich man and Lazarus
Luke 16:19-31 is the story of the Rich man and Lazarus, both of whom die. A study of these verses will show the rich man had all his faculties. He could feel, see, hear and remember.
In Verse 24, he remembered Lazarus, the man who sat begging at the gate to his home.In verse 25, Abraham tells the rich man, "Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things and likewise Lazarus evil things......"
In verses 27-28, the rich man remembers that he has 5 brothers So, again, memory of our earthly lives follow us after death.
6. A book of remembrance
God makes a record in heaven of everything done by people on earth. This is true from both the godly and the ungodly. And we know these records outlast a person's life on earth.
For the believer, this record lasts at least to the judgment seat of Christ. For the unbeliever, they last at least up to the Great White Throne judgment. Whether it lasts beyond these points we don't know, but I think it can be inferred that the record of the godly will last forever.
In Malachi 3:16 (NKJV), we read:
16 Then those who feared the LORD spoke to one another, and the LORD listened and heard them; so a book of remembrance was written before Him for those who fear the LORD and who meditate on His name.Typically, in the world of biblical times, such documents were recorded by the king's scribes and periodically read in his presence to ensure that worthy actions done by his subjects would be remembered and properly rewarded.
Esther 6:1-11 (NKJV), shows this to be the fact. Let me read the first 3 verses.
1 That night the king could not sleep. So one was commanded to bring the book of the records of the chronicles; and they were read before the king.
2 And it was found written that Mordecai had told of Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king's eunuchs, the doorkeepers who had sought to lay hands on King Ahasuerus.
3 Then the king said, "What honor or dignity has been bestowed on Mordecai for this?" And the king's servants who attended him said, "Nothing has been done for him."The scroll in heaven mentioned in Malachi may be recorded by angels acting as God's scribes. We are not told who the scribes are. Since God thought it necessary to tell us about its existence, it is hard to envision the God of history later destroying it or everyone in heaven ignoring it in the ages to come.
It seems more likely that these records of the faithful works of God's people on earth will be periodically read - perhaps viewed as they actually happened. Undoubtedly, they will be rejoiced over by God, his angels, and ourselves.
Having established that God keeps very meticulous records of his people, there is a side issue that may infer another reason God keeps such records. Even though we will have more acute minds in heaven, we still will not know everything. And even though our memory will be much clearer than it is today, it will not be infallible.
CAN YOU THINK OF A PLACE IN THE BIBLE WHERE WE ARE TOLD WE WILL NOT HAVE A PERFECT MEMORY FOLLOWING OUR RESURRECTION?
Matthew 25:34-38 NKJV
34 Then the King will say to those on His right hand, 'Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
35 for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in;
36 I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.'
37 "Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? (They did not have an accurate memory)
38 When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You?Could it be that God keeps a record because He knows that ours might be incomplete?
7. The Word of God
There is at least one more area that will show we will keep our memory into eternity.
Matthew 24:35 (NIV)
35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.The written Word of God will last forever. So, we certainly will have all the memories of what is recorded in the Bible. And, by the way, it includes both godly and ungodly acts.
Conclusion
So, it appears we will have full and complete memory on the other side of death's door. We will know and recognize all those that we knew in our earthly life. When these bodies of ours are resurrected, we are going to have wonderful new and improved bodies, and I just cannot see the Lord leaving out our memory.
Without our memory, we wouldn't even know Jesus Christ. We wouldn't know that He paid the supreme sacrifice for our sins. We wouldn't even remember that we had been sinners, and would have the joy of praising Him for what He did to pick us up. How would we ever know if the promises God gave in his Word are true, if we could not remember them?
I do, however, believe that we will never be troubled by memories of our lives on earth. And in heaven, we will be surrounded the beauty of heaven and the presence of God, that will captivate our attentions, and our minds simply will not migrate to the sad times on earth. We may wax nostalgic about the faithfulness of God, but we will not long for the "good old day." because we will be living the best of days forever and ever.
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