Heaven is Great but… It’s Not the End of the World

What does that even mean?

It’s a place of peace and rest with Jesus. In fact, Jesus gives one of the most helpful descriptions of heaven while speaking to the thief on the cross:

“Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.” (Luke 23:43)

I’ve always found “paradise” to be such a helpful word—it reminds me of those peaceful, restful moments on vacation, maybe somewhere like a Caribbean beach. Paradise is beautiful… but eventually, you go home.

In the same way, when we die, we’ll be with Jesus in paradise—but that’s not the final destination. There will come a day when we return home to our bodies and to this earth, made new (Revelation 21).

In other words, heaven isn’t the end of our story. And yet, some very common (and well-meaning) Christian beliefs suggest otherwise:

• The goal of the Christian life is to die and go to heaven.
• Heaven is our true home.

Those ideas aren’t wrong in sentiment—but they miss the full picture of our Christian hope.

If that’s the whole goal… then death wins. If the end is just our bodies in the ground and our spirits in heaven forever, then death gets the last word. Death is, by definition, the tragic tearing apart of body and soul.

But that’s not our end. Because of Easter, death doesn’t win—Jesus does.
The Christian hope is not disembodied. It’s resurrection. It’s body and soul reunited. Just as Jesus rose, so will we (Romans 6).

Heaven is a resting place. A paradise. But not our home.

Our true home is embodied. That’s why Jesus was raised physically. Our future bodies will be glorified—free from decay, sin, and death (1 Corinthians 15).

Even more, our home isn’t heaven but a renewed earth.
All of creation was made through Jesus and for Jesus (Colossians 1:16). He created us here—for here. That means our bodies matter. And this earth matters. One day, it too will be resurrected and made new (Revelation 21).

So yes—the new heavens and new earth are the end of the world… but only the end of this broken one. The fullness of our hope is for all of creation:

• All wrongs made right.
• All brokenness made whole.
• All sorrow turned to joy.
• All relationships reconciled.
• All things made new.

That is how vast, wide, and all-encompassing the work of Jesus is. And that’s the kind of hope we get to hold onto.

When our hope includes resurrection and the restoration of all creation, it changes how we live today.
How?
Because it all matters.

When we love people like Jesus—serving, forgiving, caring—or when we tend His creation—gardening, weeding, caring for animals—we give the world a glimpse of what’s coming.

We’re not just waiting for heaven. We’re practicing for the new creation.