At the IllumiNations conference in 2024, Bobby Gruenewald (founder of the YouVersion Bible app) moderated a conversation between Randy Alcorn,  who wrote a book about Heaven, and astronaut Shane Kimbrough, who has been to the heavens. They talk about the New Earth, the view from space, and more.

I was very touched by this thoughtful and humble letter that a reader named Mark sent us, which we’re sharing with his permission.

I’ve read books on happiness stressing that we must be happy right here and now, living in the moment, because this is our one and only chance. How sad! Thankfully, God says otherwise.

This may sound odd, but I believe—because of what I’ve read in Job and other passages—God is more interested in our seeking Him and wanting to know Him well than He is about us getting secondary and tertiary concepts—i.e., timelines which Jesus didn’t even claim to know (Matthew 24:36)—just right.

In his conversation with Brad Formsa on The WOW Factor, Randy shares personal reflections on the loss of his beloved wife, Nanci. He offers profound insights into navigating grief through faith, the power of God’s promises, and the importance of community in times of loss. They talk about his booklet Grieving with Hope: Walking with Jesus in Heartbreak, and Randy discusses practical ways to process grief while holding onto the certainty of eternal life through Jesus Christ. 

I understand how, with our current mindset, it is difficult to imagine needing encouragement in Heaven. So let’s take a look at the ultimate servant leader, Jesus.

In Randy’s conversation with Davey Blackburn from Nothing Is Wasted Ministries, they discuss what it will be like to live on the New Earth—finally free from the curse, in awe of God’s glory! Randy explains how looking forward to life on the New Earth shapes how we view this present life under the curse.

Randy had a conversation with Chris Beard at The People’s Church in Cincinnati. They spoke about Randy’s writing, the New Earth, and living in light of Heaven.

We asked commenters on my Facebook page, “What excites you most about living on the New Earth?” Wow, the responses were so great. Here are a number of them, and I hope they encourage you to anticipate our eternal home.