QUOTE:
Most of us hope that when we get to heaven we will recognize the people "there" who were significant to us "here", especially our friends and family members. None of us want heaven to be filled with strangers we don't know. And so we really want to be able to recognize each other in heaven.

And the truth seems to be that we will recognize each other and we won't recognize each other. Here's what I mean. I don't want to look the same in heaven as I do right now. And I especially don't want to look the same in heaven as I do when I reach 90 years old. And so thankfully, the Bible says that these bodies cannot inherit eternal life. God has to give us new bodies. He has to give us bodies that can live forever.

And so I'm convinced that I'm not going to look the same in heaven as I do right now. But that doesn't mean that it won't be me in heaven. It's still going to be me in heaven. Whatever my body looks like, it's still going to be me below my new skin. And it's still going to be you
beneath your new skin. We're just going to look better than we do right now. And so the real me and the real you is going to be with Christ in heaven.

Think of it like this. A couple years ago, I saw an old friend from elementary school. I didn't recognize him at all, but when he told me his name, suddenly, it brought back memories of our friendship that we had in elementary school. He looked completely different, but I knew it was him. I imagine that's what it will be like in heaven. I'll have a different look, but it will still be me.

And so I think we can take comfort to know that as Paul says in the Bible, "When we are absent from the body we are present with the Lord."