So we started looking
at this question, “Will there be food in heaven”, by first exploring why this
is a great question to chew on (no pun intended…seriously!).
Today let’s take a look at the question itself and see
whether the answer is yes or no.
So, I’ll show my cards right off the bat: I believe the
answer is YES, there most definitely will be food in heaven. And not just the
kind of food that keeps our bodies going (I’m not even sure if we’ll need to
eat!), but something far more…essential. Food that is food in its purest form,
beyond simple sustenance, beyond calories and keeping our bodies going. I
believe that in heaven when God’s adopted children sit down to eat the
experience will be something akin to history’s most epic and greatest
meals/feasts/whathaveyou multiplied by…infinity. It’ll be the taste, certainly.
But it’ll also be about the fellowship, the laughter, the pure joy that we
sometimes get a glimpse of at wedding banquets and other memorable meals.
Yes, there will be food in heaven.
Now why do I believe this?
Let me give you two reasons:
What We See in Scripture
First, in scripture, heaven is described as having fruit of
the tree of life (Revelation 22), and the fulfillment of salvation as a wedding
banquet (Revelation 19).
Second, Jesus in Mark 14:25 says that he will drink of the
fruit of the vine in the Kingdom of God. This may simply be a figure of speech,
but why not say something else at that point? Why even bring up drinking or
eating in the first place unless you literally mean that’s one of the things
that you’re waiting for?
Also, this is far from solid proof one way or the other, but
after Jesus is resurrected he sits down to eat fish with the disciples (Luke
24:41). He likely didn’t need to…and yet he did. That at least means that it’s
not ludicrous to think that the adopted sons and daughters of God will be
eating in heaven.
Finally, God often uses meals and food to teach. Jesus
talked of the kingdom of heaven as being “like a wedding banquet”. In the Old
Testament the Passover meal was perhaps the most important event for the people
of God, and followers of Christ today celebrate communion as Jesus taught his
disciples to do at his final Passover meal.
The Character of God
A lot of what you think about heaven probably is tied to
your opinion of God. As I was researching this question I saw one online
comment that said something along the lines of, “Heaven just looks like a place
where people will be singing and worshipping God all the time…pretty boring.”
If your picture of God in heaven is some kind of pompous king who just sits on
his throne satisfied to spend eternity listening to people tell him how great
he is, then I’d agree with that comment.
But this is not the God of Scripture. This is not Jesus’
God. The God of Scripture is a creator God (Genesis 1-2). He’s a healer (just
look at everything Jesus does). He’s a righteous king, an everlasting father
(Isaiah 9), he’s a savior (John 1 and 3). Simply (and un-poetically) put, he’s
some kind of combination of superhero, compassionate and wise father, and just
and loving ruler.
So to what kind of an eternity would he call those who put
their faith in him?
Actually, I don’t doubt that we’ll be worshiping him there.
But I think heavenly worship will be a far cry from the dull Sunday experiences
the commenter I mentioned may be familiar with. I think there will be singing,
yes, but it will be the kind of singing that you feel when you take the stage
for the first time and you feel thousands singing with you. It’ll be the kind
of music you create when you start jamming with your friends for the first
time, and you find out you actually sound pretty good.
And it’ll be more than singing: worship in heaven will be
creating, adventuring, loving, and…I would venture to guess…feasting,
banqueting, and eating!
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