Will I Be Happy In Heaven
Knowing That Many Of My Loved Ones Are In Hell?
This is an issue related to the Bible concept of “election”, being chosen BY God from before the foundation of the world (as mentioned in Ephesians 1:4). As I think about heaven and being home with the Lord Jesus Christ, I wonder how I am going to feel about my loved ones who are in torment in hell forever. I have very fond loving memories of aunts, uncles, grandparents, and cousins who already left this world – and who I am almost positive were not born-again by the Holy Spirit so I know they are therefore not in heaven and the only other option is hell. And as I ponder this issue, this scripture comes to mind:
“Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own?” Matthew 20:15
God is God. God is sovereign. God is ultimately in control of all things. We are not. We have a will that is only free to a certain point… because our will is tainted by sin and in bondage to our sin nature, so our will is not being led by the Holy Spirit unless and until we become “saved” (born-again or “born from above” by the Holy Spirit). And due to our bondage to sin, ONLY GOD can get us OUT of that state, which is why GOD has to do the choosing (adopting) in salvation…
“For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.” Romans 8:15
As the ultimate Creator, God can do whatever He wants with His creation. As the Divine Potter, He can do whatever He wants with us – the clay – HIS clay. The apostle Paul points this out in Romans chapter 9 – which is a chapter in the New Testament that many preachers avoid teaching – primarily because it so plainly demolishes the free-will gospel, as we see right here:
“Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus? Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?” Romans 9:20-21
Another scripture comes to mind also, a verse that more or less answers the question of “Will I be hoppy in heaven knowing my mom or my son is in hell?”.
“For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.” 1 Corinthians 13:12
The above Bible verse somewhat answers the question of “Will I be happy” – by indicating to us here on earth, that in heaven God will enable us to see things far better than here on this sin-cursed earth in these sin-cursed bodies. We will be able to understand and fully appreciate…
- God’s deserved JUSTICE towards unsaved sinners,
- God’s undeserved MERCY towards us “saved sinners” and
- God’s LOVE for us whom He saved, in spite of all the sins we committed throughout our lives.
We can get a picture of God’s prerogative to do the choosing in salvation by considering a husband and wife going to an orphanage to adopt a child. They don’t adopt every child. They adopt a particular child and they have their own particular reasons for doing so, and it is not a matter of which child was worthy of being adopted… They are ALL equally at the total mercy of the couple seeking to adopt. And… even if the couple were millionaires, they are not obligated to adopt every child at an orphanage. It is THEIR FAMILY they are building. The same reasoning can be applied to God and His family, can it not? I know that I did not choose MY parents. Did YOU choose YOURS?
In spite of God doing the adopting of children into His eternal kingdom, Christians still have the obligation – and the privilege – of preaching the Gospel to the lost. The story of the 10 talents in Matthew chapter 25 is a good reminder of this fact. God will decide whom He is going to convict and convert out of those we preach too. It is not something a Christian needs to be concerned about.
Another point to ponder on this issue of being in heaven, knowing that some of our loved ones are in hell, is that our minds will be greatly preoccupied with the Lord Jesus Christ and our brothers and sisters in Christ when we get to heaven. We won’t be meditating on painful memories or sad thoughts. We will be celebrating our redemption with our Redeemer for all eternity as powerfully pointed out throughout the book of Revelation. We will fully understand that salvation is an unearned, undeserved GIFT from God, at great expense to God, because God will transform us into incorrupt spiritual beings when we get to heaven.
“But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.” 2 Corinthians 3:18
This article may not answer all the questions you may have on this subject, and it was not intended to. It is an attempt to offer some bible-based spiritual food for thought. Comments via our web-site email are always welcome.— RM Kane
NOTE: For a much more thorough look at the subjects of election and predestination and MANY related questions and answers, please check out “Who Accepts Whom?“.