Will we experience romantic love in heaven?
Question:
If a person dies before getting to marry and experience sex and romantic love, will they experience that in heaven or the new earth? Will romantic love be done away with forever after death? I really enjoy that aspect of life and don't want it to disappear forever.
Answer:
"But Jesus answered and said to them, "You are mistaken, not understanding the Scriptures nor the power of God. For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven" (Matthew 22:29-30).
It is a mistake to assume that our physical lives will continue into heaven. We currently live in mortal bodies. Because we die, the population must be replenished. Thus, in the physical realm, we are made male and female. "God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. God blessed them; and God said to them, 'Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth'" (Genesis 1:27-28). Our desire for sex comes from our physical bodies.
But we won't keep these bodies. "For we know that if the earthly tent which is our house is torn down, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens" (II Corinthians 5:1). Because our new bodies will be eternal, there is no need for repopulation. Thus, there won't be a need for marriage and sex. We will be living a different time of life not controlled by physical desires.
"And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, 'Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.' And He who sits on the throne said, 'Behold, I am making all things new.' And He said, 'Write, for these words are faithful and true'" (Revelation 21:3-5).
Question:
That was a really great answer! Thanks.
Will we still have close relationships with our spouse in heaven? Will those relationships be even better?
Answer:
We will know our loved ones in heaven. See Shall We Know One Another in Heaven? But since we have not yet reached heaven, I can't begin to guess what our relationships with each other will be like. I do know that the friends I had as a child changed as I grew up. The friends I had when I was single were altered when I was married. It isn't that I am not connected with my old friends, but I've changed and different friends have become important. I suspect that in heaven we will be expanding the circle of people in our eternal life.
