Is heaven good?

TL;DR:

Heaven is good because it is the Kingdom of God where believers will spend eternity with Him. It is a place where mourning, crying, pain, and death will no longer exist.

"Good" is an understatement for how Scripture describes Heaven. First Kings 8:30 presents Heaven as the dwelling place of God, where His throne and presence are. Heaven is a place of perfection and God's glory. Jesus promised His disciples in John 14:2 that He was leaving to go prepare a place for them in Heaven and that they would join Him there someday. The apostle John's vision of Heaven, recorded in the Revelation 21 and 22, gives us many of the Biblical details about Heaven, including the Heavenly city, the New Jerusalem. The New Jerusalem is described as being full of God's light, having streets of golden glass, and walls of gold and colorful jewels. The river of life runs through the city and the tree of life bears its fruit for "the healing of the nations" (Revelation 22:2). In Heaven we will experience eternal life without any tears, sadness, crying, pain, death, or fear. Heaven will reunite us with believers who have died before us and, most wonderfully, put us face to face with our Savior, to live in His presence forever.

from the old testament

Heaven is good because it is the dwelling place of God (1 Kings 8:30).
Heaven is described as the house of the Lord, where believers will live in goodness forever (Psalm 23:6).

from the new testament

To all who believe in Jesus, glorious, eternal life in Heaven is promised (John 3:16).
Jesus promised His followers that He was leaving Earth to return to Heaven to prepare a place of eternal goodness for them (John 14:2). We will live with God among us in Heaven (Revelation 21:3).
Heaven is good because in it there is no more death, mourning, crying, or pain (Revelation 21:4).
The city of Heaven is full of the light of God, needing nothing else to provide its light and completely void of darkness (Revelation 21:23, 22:5).
Nothing impure will ever enter Heaven, only those who are saved by faith in Christ (Revelation 21:27).

implications for today

"This is heaven!" Whether someone says that about a piece of rich cheesecake, a day on the beach, or a quiet day on the couch, "heaven" is the go-to word to describe something good. And it will be even better than we can imagine.

Though we have many questions about heaven or what life will be like there, we know enough to know that it is good—and far more than we can think of. It is a place of absolute peace and perfection. It is a place where pain, sorrow, and sin are gone forever (Revelation 21:4), where God’s presence fills everything (Psalm 16:11), and where joy and worship never end (Revelation 7:9-10). Heaven isn’t just “good”—it’s the ultimate fulfillment of God’s promise, a reality so glorious that even our best earthly pleasures are only a shadow of what awaits us.

The reality of heaven comforts us in a world full of pain and chaos. The thought of our eternal home can help us move forward when the world seems overwhelming and hopeless. It gives us eternal perspective. It should also spur us to share the Gospel with others so they, too, can avoid eternal suffering and separation from God and instead gain eternal life in heaven.

understand

Heaven is good because it is the dwelling place of God and full of His glory.
Heaven is good and is the eternal home of all who believe in Jesus for salvation.
Anything that causes pain, fear, or sadness will not exist in heaven, which makes it good.

reflect

What do you think of when you consider heaven?
How can reflecting of the goodness of heaven impact how you live your earthly life?
What parts of heaven do you most look forward to experiencing?

engage

How can our knowledge of heaven impact the way we encourage other believers when they are going through difficult times?
How can we explain heaven to those who may not be familiar with it or view it as desirable?
How can our view of the goodness of heaven influence our sharing of God with others who do not know Him?