Will I See My Pet Animals in Heaven?

            The sermon this Sunday, May 5th, is “Will I See My Pet Animals in Heaven?”  This is the sixth and final sermon in the Easter series, “What Happens to Me After I Die?”  This particular topic on pets in heaven was not part of my original vision for this series on life after death.  However, when I presented my plans for the sermon series to the Worship Committee at Meriden UMC, they suggested adding this topic.

            Many American Christians have pets as a part of their households.  For many of us, these pets literally become “part of the family.”  We develop a deep love for our pets; we cherish their companionship, as well as appreciating their unique personalities and their quirky traits and habits.  We care about our pets and their well-being.  Just as our love for family members and friends extends beyond death to the next life, so also the scope of our love for our pets extends beyond this present time to life after death.  We wonder if we will see our pets in heaven.

            (Will I see my pets in heaven?  This is certainly an important question for me.  As I’m writing this blog, my dog, “Mr. Snuggles,” is curled up, sleeping at my feet, while my cat, “Jaguar,” keeps batting my arm with his paw because he wants to me to scratch him behind the ears and rub his back.  When I pause to rub Jaguar, I can hear him begin to purr.)

            Christians are divided on the question of whether we will see our pets in heaven.  A quick search on the internet reveals the division of opinions on this question. 

Some Christians believe that animals do not go to heaven.  Christians holding this position can build a persuasive argument, which is thoroughly grounded based upon a number of passages from scripture.  For instance, Pastor Jeffrey Hamilton of La Vista Church of Christ in La Vista, Nebraska, quotes 27 different passages of scripture in his sermon, “Dogs Don’t Go to Heaven”.[1]  Among the reasons that Pastor Hamilton believes that dogs do not go to heaven are his claims that dogs are lazy, greedy, and “have disgusting habits.”

Other Christians believe that animals to go to heaven.  Christians holding this position can also build a persuasive argument and they also base their argument on numerous passages from scripture.  For instance, in preparation for this sermon I read a book by Steven Woodward, entitled:  Biblical Proof:  Animals Do Go to Heaven.[2]  In this book, the author offers extensive biblical proof that animals do go to heaven, in contrast to Pastor Hamilton above.

Will I see my pet animals in heaven?  On this question, many Christians of good obviously disagree—as evidenced by the two Christian writers above.  Readers of this blog may well disagree with me on this question.  If you do, I hope that you will respond to this blog and share why you disagree with me.  I find that I always learn and grow through considering viewpoints that are different from my own.  However, with that said, my own position is that animals do go to heaven, and that we will see our pets there.

My reasons for believing that animals go to heaven are not based primarily upon arguments from scriptural proof-tests, such as those used by Steven Woodward in his book.  I believe that the scriptural arguments on both sides of this question are rather superficial and shallow.  I really appreciate a sentence written by Wesley Smith in an article for the magazine Christianity Today.  Like me, Smith is critical of stringing together various scriptural texts to argue that animals do—or, do not—go to heaven.  He writes, “Instead of speculating or making strained proof-texts, let us instead give thanks to God for the great gift of joy he has given us in our pets.”[3]

Instead of stringing together proof-texts about whether animals go to heaven, I have come to my position because this claim fits consistently into our understanding of who God is and what God will do at the End Times.  In this sermon series, I have suggested that we need to take a broader view, which sees the Resurrection of Jesus, the promise of eternal life, and the End Times as all inter-connected with one another.  Indeed, our view needs to be broader, yet, so that we also include our understanding of God’s work as the Creator.

One of the fundamental Christian beliefs is that God created the earth, the sun, the moon, the stars, and indeed the entire universe.  In Genesis 1, God surveys all that God created and saw that it was very good (Genesis 1:31), and Genesis 2 says that God created all of life on planet Earth as a gift for humans, who are to serve as stewards and caretakers of this beautiful blue-green planet.  But, God’s creative work did not stop with the Big Bang.  Instead, God continues to create and redeem all of Creation.

My sermon this week is based upon Romans 8: 18-25.  In this passage, the Apostle Paul writes that all of creation “has been groaning in labor pains” as it awaits final redemption, when Jesus will come again.  But, this suffering of the creation is not in vain.  Rather, at the End Times, “the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and will obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.”

The full and total redemption of Creation will not be completed until the End Times.  When redemption is completed, humans and all of Creation will be completely transformed.  As Revelation 21: 1 says, “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.”  God not only promises us that we and all of Creation will be renewed and transformed, God also guarantees it through the Resurrection of Jesus Christ on the first Easter.  As I suggested at the beginning of this sermon series, Jesus’ Resurrection was a physical resurrection.  Yet, at the same time, the resurrected Jesus was in some way transformed so that his disciples and closest friends did not recognize him at first.

My hope is based upon this conviction that God will redeem all of Creation at the End Times—including Jaguar, Mr. Snuggles, and all of my other beloved pets.   This conviction is based upon Romans 8, Revelation 21, and other scriptural passages.  So, it is consistent with our understanding of God’s Redemption of Creation to believe that I will see Jaguar, Mr. Snuggles, as well as all of my other beloved pets, in Heaven.  God loves and redeems all of Creation through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

If you live in the Meriden-area and do not have a regular church home, please consider attending Meriden United Methodist Church this Sunday.  Meriden UMC is located at the corner of Dawson and Main.  Our worship service starts on Sundays at 10 am.  Everyone is welcome and accepted because God loves us all.

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[1] La Vista Church of Christ, “Dogs Don’t Go to Heaven,” access online at http://lavistachurchofchrist.org/LVSermons/DogsDontGoToHeaven.html on 30 April 2013.

[2] Steven H. Woodward, Biblical Proof:  Animals Do Go to Heaven (Xulon Press, 2012).

[3] Wesley Smith, Karen Swallow Prior, and Ben DeVries, “Do Pets Go to Heaven? In Christianity Today, 12 April 2012, accessed online at http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/channel/utilities/print.html?type=article&id=9590. 23 April 2013.