Question:

Does our Love Continue when we die?
Is there Love in Heaven?

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        The question I was asked in one of our group meetings was whether there is Love in Heaven. I shared with the person asking the question, that it was actually a question of, “Does our Love Continue when we die?”

There is no question that Love will continue when we die. While in Heaven, I found out firsthand that Jesus is Love.  The love that comes from Jesus fills all of Heaven and all that is in it. His Love is in every person, in every tree, in every plant and animal.

 

        Jesus shared with me that Love is the most powerful force in the universe and transcends physical death. Love can heal, unite, and transcend boundaries. It inspires acts of kindness, compassion, and sacrifice. Love is what drives individuals and societies to work together, create beauty, and improve the world. It is a force that resonates with the very essence of our existence.

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        To understand love and how it transcends death, we must realize that Love is both an emotion and a force. Humanity needs to develop a deep and moving understanding of the relationship between divine love, human connection, and eternal hope found in heaven. The profound truth that God's love is the very essence of heaven must be emphasized. His love is pure, unconditional, and untainted by any negative emotion or experience. This divine love not only fills us in this life but transcends into the life to come, where it will be fully realized in its perfect form.

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         I learned and would describe love as "the most powerful force there is," transcending even the laws of physics. God’s love is a bridge that connects the universe, inspiring and permeating meaning into our existence and helping us transcend ego and isolation while turning to and loving GOD.

Love is not just an emotion but a divine and cosmic force that is the foundation that supports the very structure of existence. God is love and is what all that is good is rooted in. God's love is pure and will bind all true believers to GOD, it underscores love’s fundamental nature in Christian theology.    (1 John 4:15,16 [NIV]),  “15 If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God.16 And so we know and rely on the love God has for us, God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.

Love (agape) is the highest expression of God’s nature and purpose, through which humanity can achieve salvation and eternal life.

 

       “God’s Love and ours should be the same.” (1 John 4:7-21 [NIV]), “7 Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God 8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 11 Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. 13 This is how we know that we live in him and he in us: He has given us of his Spirit. 14 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. 15 If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God. 16 And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. 17 This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus. 18 There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.
19 We love because he first loved us. 20 Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. 21 And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister.”

      

       Love, being the most powerful force in the universe, speaks to a deep human understanding of connection, unity, and transformation.

Across time and cultures, love has been revered as a divine force capable of bridging divides, healing wounds, and fostering compassion. In this view, love isn't merely an emotion or experience but a fundamental energy that holds the power to shape reality itself.

 

       From a Christian perspective, many teachings emphasize love as the essence of divinity. The Bible, for instance, declares, "God is love", (1 John 4:8 [NIV]), “8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love”, underscoring love as a supreme and unifying force. The Bible also says that God’s love will never die or pass away,

(1 Corinthians 13:1-13 [NIV]) “1 If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing. 4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.8 Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part, and we prophesy in part, 10 but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. 11 When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. 12 For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.”)  

 

        Ultimately, we must realize, the reality of love as an “invisible force with significant influence" that impacts our mental and physical well-being, which is uniquely shared by humans, suggests that love is not merely an abstract concept but an inherent quality that defines us. It should remind us that love is a gift from God, a force that, when embraced collectively, can lead to a world characterized by compassion, understanding, and peace. In this way, love is not just a force that affects our individual lives but could be the key to shaping our and others' destinies.

  

       Scientifically, love has been shown to impact our mental and physical well-being significantly. Our brain responds to various stimuli by producing neurochemical messengers called hormones such as oxytocin, endorphins, dopamine, and serotonin.  These hormones travel via the bloodstream to different areas of the body, where they trigger specific functions or feelings.

      Understanding that our brain responds to various stimuli demonstrates how love, in its many forms, romantic, familial, or platonic, can affect our health. Beyond happiness, love fosters resilience, helps us cope with stress, and strengthens the social bonds essential for survival.

 

       Love, or lack thereof, is what drives personal and social transformation. Love acts as a bridge between the earthly and the divine, as an agent for self-betterment and growth. Love, having the potential to transcend differences and unite individuals into communities, speaks to its civilizing power.

      

       The reality of love’s interconnectedness transcends death and resonates with the emerging views in science that everything in the universe is deeply interconnected. Love must be understood as a force that resonates with this interconnectedness, playing a role in the unseen bonds that link consciousness, energy, and matter.

 

 

       Love is the most powerful force in the universe and resonates with a profound universal truth of interconnectedness. Though often viewed as an intangible concept, perspectives and evidence demonstrate love’s transcendent and transformative power with its potential as a unifying force. 

 

       Knowing that love never dies and transcends death gives us the comforting thought that those in Heaven are enveloped in God’s love and are free from death, pain, sorrow, or worry. It speaks to the promise of heaven as a place of complete peace and joy.
 

       While our loved ones are not able to look down on or intervene in our earthly lives directly, God's love is the bridge that continues to connect us to our loved ones who have died. It gives us assurance and comfort knowing that they are in heaven because we still have that connection through the love of God. It also assures us that we have God’s love in us because a corrupt and cursed human love would not transcend death, and the connection via God’s love, would not be there. The memories, dreams, and experiences we have of our loved ones are indeed real, but they come through the comfort of God, reminding us of the unique eternal connection we share through His love.

 

       This understanding encourages us to rejoice in the knowledge that our loved ones are in a place of peace and love, and that we, too, will one day join them in God’s eternal embrace.

 

       The reassurance that we are still connected to them through God’s love is a source of great comfort, especially during moments of grief or longing.  Understanding this also provides hope, not just for the future reunion in heaven but for the peace we can experience here and now, knowing that God’s love continues to bind us together.

 

       True love is not merely physical but also intellectual and spiritual, a force that drives us toward the good from God's Love, patience, kindness, truth, trust, and hope. It can also be said that love is the force that elevates us from the material realm to higher spiritual truths. Similarly, love fuels the quest for wisdom and virtue, uniting the body and soul to pursue the ultimate good and God. ( 1 Corinthians 13: 4-7 [NIV] ), 4Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.)

    

       The evidence suggests that love’s influence extends far beyond personal relationships. Love is a biological necessity for humans, an ethical compass in philosophy, a central tenet in spirituality, and a form of clarity for identifying the hidden force responsible for the universe’s interconnectedness. While science may not quantify love as a physical force, its effects on our lives are undeniable, uniting us, fostering empathy, and leading to growth. Love remains the most powerful force in shaping our emotional, spiritual, and societal evolution.
 

       The opposite of love is not envy, boastfulness, pride, dishonoring others, self-seeking, easily angered, keeping a record of wrongs, or delighting in evil or maliciousness. These are traits that love is not.

 

       The opposite of love is the part of us that asserts our free will independently without concern for God's love being the guiding force to experience individual freedoms.

 

       When we exercise our free will and make choices or decisions without love being the prevalent guiding factor in our free will, we are being guided by the characteristics or traits that God's love is not.  When we do so despite God’s love that we have in us, is the reason and when we sin.

 

       In many ways, free will makes us our own worst enemy. When it comes to what love is not; love is not envious, boastful, prideful, dishonoring others, self-seeking, easily angered, keeping a record of wrongs, or delighting in evil or maliciousness. It is when we abuse or corrupt our free will and exercise our ability to choose with wrong motives and reasons that can lead to conflict, hatred, and the perpetuation of these negative emotions and actions. It allows us to hold grudges, seek revenge, and build barriers between ourselves and others, causing conflicts among ourselves, others, and nations worldwide.
 

       Love is the foundation of society, influencing and causing cooperation, empathy, and a sense of belonging. On the other hand, the absence of love can lead to isolation, division, and discord. Thus, I believe that by conforming ourselves to love, Through mindfulness, kindness, or spiritual practice, we can achieve a more harmonious existence, both individually and collectively. (1 John 4:8 [NIV*]). “God is love”, “8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love,”