Babies in Heaven
Isaiah 11 describes the new heavens and the new earth after the kingdom of the Christ is established. This chapter is where we get the idea that the lion will lie down with the lamb. In the new creation, we have wonderful promises that wolves will not devour lambs, that panthers will be friendly to young goats, that lions shall return to their vegetarian diet. Ultimately there will be peace all around.
The picture is of a restored paradise, and while some readers
think this is figurative language, I believe it is literal. One reason I read
it literally is because when it talks about babies and infants, it doesn’t use
abstract language like, “Children could tend lions…” or “Babies could play with
cobras.” It uses concrete language,
a little child shall lead them. ~
Isaiah 11:6
and
the nursing child shall play over
the hole of the cobra, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder’s
den. ~ Isaiah 11:8
These little ones shall be in the new heaven and the
new earth. They shall lead and play.
Heaven is a Nursery
Concerning these and other verses, many authors have described
heaven as a nursery. While some have said that heaven has a nursery, many have observed that it is more accurate that heaven is a nursery. Jesus
said “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such
belongs the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 19:14, emphasis mine). He
also said, “Do not despise one of these little ones, for I tell you that in
heaven their angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven” (Matthew
18:10).
The number of babies who have been lost and carried to heaven is staggering, and while Jesus was most likely speaking of the faith of children that lay hold of the kingdom (Matthew 18:3), he also may very well have been speaking of the sheer numbers of babies who inhabit heaven.
Notice that there are three types of infants mentioned in
Isaiah 11 who indwell the new creation, 1) a small child, 2) a nursing infant,
and 3) a weaned child.
Do Babies Grow in Heaven?
I know there are many babies in heaven, but a question that I cannot answer is whether babies grow in
heaven. I suspect–based solely on God’s will for growth (Ephesians 4:13, 1
Thessalonians 4:3)–that they will grow up. But there is something sweet and
longing in my soul for perpetual babies who have that wonderful dazzling
continuing exploration and joy for all eternity.
Thomas Chalmers doesn’t shed much light on a final answer,
but he seemed to likewise long for that growth,
A child who dies in infancy is but
transplanted to a grander nursery, where the instruction is perfect and the
growth is everlasting.
Perhaps we will all have that childlike wonder in growing in
heaven, as Abraham Lincoln observed,
Surely God would not have created
such a being as man, with the ability to grasp the infinite, to exist only for
a day! No, no, man was made for immortality.
I have been asked by several grieving mothers if they will
be able to nurse their babies in heaven. Beloved, I can’t think of a better
person to ensure that the nursing baby is nourished than its mother. But it
comes with one caveat: you have to be a citizen of that new creation yourself. So,
pay close attention to yourself and Christ, ensure you’re trusting fully in him
and his atoning work, and then I suspect there will be a great number of babies
who need your loving touch and nourishment.
It is both a horrible fact of sinful life and a wonderous
fact of eternal glory that there will be so many babies who were “born into
heaven,” as Ashley Opliger said of her daughter who stepped straight from her
womb into the throne room of grace. Heaven is a nursery of little ones
beholding their Saviour. It is horrible that they did not get to grow up, but
it is glorious that the first face they saw was the face of God.
Safe in the Arms of Jesus
Fanny Crosby, blind from infancy, said,
Do you know that if at birth I had
been able to make one petition to my Creator, that it would have been that I
should be born blind? Because when I get to heaven, the first face that shall
ever gladden my sight will be that of my Saviour.
Because of that statement, when I comfort a grieving family
whose child died before birth, I often say,
If your
baby could send us a message from heaven it might sound something like this:
I so
looked forward to meeting you,
Of seeing your face and feeling your touch,
But the first face I saw was the face of God!
His embrace is tender and strong.
I
cannot come to you, but you may come to me,
Our creator has loved us and made a way
And we may yet meet.
Your
little baby,
Safe in the arms of Jesus
The safety and security of heaven is assured. Isaiah speaks
again of the new heavens and the new earth and makes this promise:
No more shall there be in it an
infant who lives but a few days… ~ Isaiah 65:20
But for now, many an infant has lived but a few days. It
helps us to look forward to a time of eternal safety and rest. Fanny Crosby who
penned the words to Safe in the Arms of Jesus after the loss of her own
daughter and in expectation of heaven,
Safe in
the arms of Jesus,
Safe from corroding care,
Safe from the world’s temptations,
Sins cannot harm me there,
Free
from the blight of sorrow,
Free from my doubts and fears;
Only a few more trials,
Only a few more tears.
On earth we sing the lullaby, “Hush little baby, don’t you
cry; Papa’s going to sing you a lullaby,” in which the father purchases the
baby a mockingbird, a billy goat, a dog named rover, and a horse. In heaven we
get to add cobra, adder, lion, and any other dangerous animal you want, maybe a
tyrannosaurus rex or a Harpy eagle, etc. I’m not a hymn or lullaby writer, but
maybe in heaven we’ll sing,
Hush
little baby, don’t you cry,
daddy’s gonna sing you a heavenly lullaby.
Hush
little baby just so you’re aware,
my first present to you is a friendly grizzly bear.
Hush
little baby, make no mistake,
don’t forget to walk your rattlesnake.
And
while we’re singing this chorus,
why don’t we go saddle your stegosaurus?
And
after you’re done patting its head,
our Komodo Dragon can nap in your bed.
And
through it all my sweet little one,
we’re going to worship God’s own Son.
Hush
little baby, if you cry,
Jesus will wipe every teardrop dry.
Tears in Heaven
It has been erroneously stated that there are no tears in
heaven. It is nearly accurate, but it misses the heart and love of God.
Mourning is not a sin: we see Jesus weeping on earth over the death of his
friend Lazarus (John 11:35), and we are encouraged not to mourn as those who
have no hope (1 Thessalonians 4:13). Mourning and weeping abound on earth.
But in heaven we see three places where Jesus wipes away
tears (Isaiah 25:8, Revelation 7:17, 21:4), implying that there are tears in
heaven. Psalm 56:8 says that God has kept your tears in his bottle, both your
tossings and weeping have been recorded in his book.
Why are there tears? Probably for all of the reasons there
are tears on earth; some are tears of joy at seeing Jesus face-to-face, others
are tears of gratitude, some may be tears of thankful mourning and gratitude at seeing the scars on the Lamb of God who loved us and died for us. And likely some are tears of
sorrow for knowing that such suffering still exists on earth, and especially
when our beloved are still enduring the suffering of earth. Others are tears of
mourning the people we expected or hoped to see in heaven who are not there.
Maybe other tears of mourning are for people we knew wouldn’t meet us in
heaven, but now they’re confirmed.
Whatever the reason for tears and mourning, the rest of Revelation
7:17 and 21:4 tell us this is the end of death, mourning, crying, and pain.
Conclusion
The God who holds our infants in the nursery of heaven is
the same God who dries every eye and who opened the gates of heaven to every one who
will put their faith in him. Christ promised that heaven belongs to children,
and he died to ensure his promises are fulfilled.
'Twas
love that lived, 'twas love that died,
With endless life to bless us;
Well hast Thou won Thy blood-bought Bride,
Worthy art Thou, Lord Jesus! ~ William Dickinson
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