Heaven

body, play golf with Payne Stewart or play basketball with David Robinson? How would you like to play catch with Andy Pettitte or go for a run with Jesse Owens or Eric Liddell?
Eric Liddell understood that glorifying God extends to every part of our lives. Explaining that God had called him not only to missions work in China but also to compete in the Olympics, Liddell said to his sister, “He made me fast, and when I run I feel God’s pleasure. . . . To give up running would be to hold him in contempt.”336
In a tennis tournament, I once played a five-hour singles match in which each of the three sets went to a tiebreaker. I came away exhausted, lost two toenails, and limped for two weeks. But did I regret a single minute of that five-hour match? Not one. There’s joy in testing the limits of our bodies. Furthermore, those exhilarating five hours created a permanent bond with my opponent, who became my friend.
As we expend energy in our new bodies, it’s possible we’ll tire and need refreshment. After playing for hours, we may eat and drink to replenish our bodies, laughing about what happened on the field, enjoying each other’s company, and praising God for the sheer pleasure of it all.
People have told me, “But there can’t be athletics in Heaven because competition brings out the worst in people.” It’s true that some people’s sin spills over during athletic competition. But in Heaven, there will be no worst in us to bring out. People further object: “But in sports, someone has to lose. And in Heaven no one could lose.” Who says so? I’ve thoroughly enjoyed many tennis matches and ten-kilometer races that I’ve lost. Losing a game isn’t evil. It’s not part of the Curse. To say that “everyone would have to win in Heaven” underestimates the nature of resurrected humanity.
Can There Be Thrills without Risk?
A sincere young man told me that no matter what I might say, Heaven must be boring. Why? “Because you can’t appreciate good without bad, light without darkness, or safety without danger. If Heaven is safe, if there’s no risk, it has to be boring.”
His first mistake was assuming there’s no good without bad. God said Earth was “very good” before there was sin or anything bad (Genesis 1:31). Adam and Eve enjoyed Eden’s goodness before experiencing the badness of sin. This young man’s next mistake was believing that a person has to currently see evil at work to appreciate good and to currently be in danger to appreciate safety.

make us happy in Heaven, we betray our Christoplatonism again—for by finding happiness in God’s creation, we will find happiness in him.
We know animals will be on the New Earth, which is a redeemed and renewed old Earth, in which animals had a prominent role. People will be resurrected to inhabit this world. As we saw, Romans 8:21-23 assumes animals as part of a suffering creation eagerly awaiting deliverance through humanity’s resurrection. This seems to require that some animals who lived, suffered, and died on the old Earth must be made whole on the New Earth. Wouldn’t some of those likely be our pets?
Something better remains after death for these poor creatures . . . that these, likewise, shall one day be delivered from this bondage of corruption, and shall then receive an ample amends for all their present sufferings.
John Wesley
It seems God could do one of three things on the New Earth: (1) create entirely new animals; (2) bring back to life animals that have suffered in our present world, giving them immortal bodies (this could be re-creating, not necessarily resurrecting); (3) create some animals brand-new, “from scratch,” and bring back to life some old ones.308
I’m avoiding the term resurrection for fear that it could lead to theological error that fails to recognize the fundamental differences between people and animals—something that certain “animal rights” advocates are guilty of. However, in the broad sense of the terms, the words redemption and resurrection can appropriately apply not only to mankind but also to Earth, vegetation, and animals. A resurrected field, meadow, flower, or animal, of course, would in no sense be equal to resurrected humans; it’s simply that just as Creation and the Fall rode on the coattails of mankind, so will redemption and resurrection.
In many of his writings, C. S. Lewis commented on the future of animals. He said, “It seems to me possible that certain animals may have an immortality, not in themselves, but in the immortality of their masters. . . . Very few animals indeed, in their wild state, attain to a ‘self’ or ego. But if any do, and if it is agreeable to the goodness of God that they should live again, their immortality would also be related to man—not, this time, to individual masters, but to humanity.”309 In The Great Divorce, Lewis portrayed Sarah Smith, a woman ordinary on Earth, as great in Heaven. On Earth she loved both people and animals. In Heaven she’s surrounded by the very animals she cared for on Earth.310

It’s apparent that the Curse that fell on the earth resulted in some species dying out. But God promises, “No longer will there be any curse” (Revelation 22:3). And because it seems that the Curse will not merely be nullified but reversed, it seems likely that God might restore extinct animals and plants on the New Earth.
Animals are created for God’s glory. What could speak more of his awesome power than a tyrannosaurus? When talking to Job, God pointed out his greatness revealed in the giant land and sea creatures behemoth and leviathan (Job 40–41). Why shouldn’t all people have the opportunity to enjoy these great wonders of God on the New Earth?
Imagine Jurassic Park with all of the awesome majesty of those huge creatures but none of their violence and hostility. Imagine riding a brontosaurus—or flying on the back of a pterodactyl. Unless God made a mistake when he created them—and clearly he didn’t—why wouldn’t he include them when he makes “everything new”?
Will Our Pets Be Restored on the New Earth?
Humorist Will Rogers said, “If there are no dogs in heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went.” This statement was, of course, based on sentiment, not theology. However, it reflects something biblical: a God-given affection for animals. I’ve often thanked God for my golden retriever, who, when I was a boy, crawled into my sleeping bag as I lay in my backyard gazing up at the stars. Although I didn’t know God then, he touched my life through that dog. Nanci and I have experienced many hours of laughter and joy in animals.
Certainly people can go to unhealthy extremes with their animals. Still, though we understandably roll our eyes at pet psychologists or estates left to Siamese cats, we should ask ourselves why so many people find such companionship, solace, and joy in their pets. Is it because of sin? I believe it’s because of how God has made animals, and us.
That’s why the question of whether pets will be in Heaven is not, as some assume, stupid. Animals aren’t nearly as valuable as people, but God is their Maker and has touched many people’s lives through them. It would be simple for him to re-create a pet in Heaven if he wants to. He’s the giver of all good gifts, not the taker of them. If it would please us to have a pet restored to the New Earth, that may be sufficient reason. Consider parents who’ve acquired a pet because of their child’s request. God is better than we are at giving good gifts to his children (Matthew 7:9-11). And if we object that animals won’t