Most people who don’t know God (and even some who do) claim that we can’t know anything about heaven because no-one has ever come back to tell us about it. That may well be, in a general sense, but we can certainly know about heaven through those who’ve had visions of it (meaning, they’ve been shown glimpses of life in heaven) and by what scripture tells us about it.

If you’re born again, chances are pretty good that God’s shown you glimpses of heaven. My understanding, from what I’ve been shown and told, is that heaven is very much like Earth, only absolutely perfected. By “perfected”, I mean that there is no decay, no physical or emotional pain, and no ‘ugliness’ in any sense of the term. There are no ‘bad hair’ days in heaven. Souls that make it to heaven leave their imperfect mortal bodies behind (on Earth) and enter into perfect immortal bodies that are entirely free of flaws. Everyone and everything is beautiful in heaven.

That means – perfect skin, perfect teeth, perfect hair, perfect bodies. If we make it to heaven, we will have perfect athleticism that comes with perfect hand-eye co-ordination and perfect balance of body mass distribution. (Imagine what that will do to your golf score!) We will also sing ‘like the angels’, whose voices are renowned even among non-believers.

We will live in homes that suit our personalities and preferences to a “T”. We will eat all of our favourite foods with perfectly attuned appetites, never gaining an ounce of superfluous flesh. Our weight will be perfect and remain so forever. We will be surrounded by our favourite flowers and trees and animals. Each night, our sleep will be the best we’ve ever had, and we’ll wake up the next morning feeling the best we’ve ever felt.

There is no sickness in heaven, neither of the body nor of the soul. Everyone in heaven loves God and follows Jesus. We all share the same values, but our personalities are our own. Our will is perfectly attuned to God’s, but our personalities are our own.

This is crucial to understand, that our personalities remain the same. My personality is unique to me, just as yours is unique to you. Whether an unbeliever or born again, whether on Earth or in heaven, my personality remains the same. My values changed profoundly when I was born again, but my personality remained the same. This is how you can tell the difference between someone who is born again and someone who is under the influence of the evil one – a born-again believer will have the same personality but values that are in line with Jesus’ values, whereas someone who is demon-compromised will have a markedly changed personality and values that are opposed to Jesus and God.

My personality is unique to me, and there will be only one like me in heaven, just as there is only one like me on Earth. Along with my personality are my preferences, such as my favourite foods, favourite colors, favourite sports, and so on. In heaven, I will have access to all of my favourites all of the time. So, for instance, I won’t have to eat any food that I don’t like, ever.

I love to figure skate. But here on Earth, I’ve had inner ear issues since the age of 6 (through botched surgeries) that have prevented me from learning figure skating skills such as spins and jumps. I simply can’t do them, no matter how hard I try. In heaven, though, those physical restraints will be removed. I will have athleticism that surpasses even the world’s greatest athletes, because I will have perfectly balanced physical form, perfect hand-eye coordination, and perfect inner ears. I’ll still have to learn how to jump and spin, but I will be able to learn. In fact, I’ll probably be spending most of my free time learning how to jump, spin and do fancy footwork in my own personal backyard skating arena, listening to my favourite skating music.

I say “free time”, because I’ll still have to work if I get to heaven. But work in heaven is nothing like work on Earth. In heaven, work is perfectly attuned to your abilities and preferences, and perfectly supported by God. It always involves “missions” to help both believers and non-believers in the mortal realm still going through the testing years. Think of what angels do here on Earth now, and you’ll have a general idea of your potential job description when you get to heaven.