35 But someone will ask, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body will they come?” 36 How foolish!What you sow does not come to life unless it dies.37 When you sow, you do not plant the body that will be, but just a seed, perhaps of wheat or of something else. 38 But God gives it a body as he has determined, and to each kind of seed he gives its own body. 39 Not all flesh is the same: People have one kind of flesh, animals have another, birds another and fish another. 1 Corinthians 15:35-39
Paul has affirmed that after death comes resurrection. So the natural next question is to ask what that will look like. Will we be reincarnated into a bug if we led selfish lives or an angel if we were good? I was surprised at a teacher’s meeting to hear a lady telling another about her beloved cat that had recently died and that she was sure it was now her guardian angel. The table chirped in with their various ideas of whatever “after death” might look like. We know from the resurrection of Jesus that the disciples recognized him, could touch him, his body was not bound by time and space like ours, and he did eat with them. Paul suggests that even as we might throw out a handful of unknown seeds into our garden, we may not be able to predict what type of flowers or vegetables will grow. In the same way our bodies now are like those seeds and what they will become in eternity is mostly unknown.
I find it interesting that the last sentence includes “life” or flesh as a broader category that may include our beloved pets, perhaps fish for those who love fishing, and birds for the bird watchers. I love Tales of Narnia where Narnia includes talking animals and mythical creature like unicorns. We just don’t know but we can believe and trust. Heaven before the fall was a beautiful, purposeful and interesting place to be and I cannot imagine heaven to come will be any less.
So rather than haggle over that which we just don’t know, let’s have some fun thinking of the maybe’s through the acrostic of “trust”. Perhaps heaven will include T- turtles, trees, tulips, tenderness…
T is for ______
R is for ______
U is for _______
S is for _______
T is for _______
Thank you, Lord, that we can trust you for the unknown. We see all the trees and flowers and know you love diversity. We enjoy our friends and know you love community and laughter, and joy. We read your law and know you value people and do not want murder, greed, jealously or covetousness. Lord, you are good and help us to remember that.
On the Way to Wonder 