Randy Alcorn's Blog

Does Our Attitude Toward Aging Reflect That Life at Every Stage Is Valuable?

Randy Alcorn — Mon, 05 Oct 2026 00:00:00 -0700

I listened on audio to Jen Wilkin’s new book Dust to Dust: Aging Wisely in an Anti-Aging World. She does a wonderful job of connecting those decreasingly helpless at the beginning of life with those increasingly helpless at the end of life. I highly recommend this to people of all ages who want to understand themselves and their family and friends better, and be able to help them with greater wisdom.

Jen writes in the first chapter:

From the moment you are born until the moment you die, you are aging. Every second of every minute of every hour of every day of every month of every year, your life counts up to midlife and down to end of life. How does that make you feel? Does your chest tighten with anxiety? Maybe you feel pressure to accomplish something more or different with the time you have left. Or maybe you feel very little at all about the ticking away of your life’s time clock.

Perhaps more importantly, how should thinking about the countdown of your life make you feel?

This is not a book about death or the afterlife. Nor is it a book about dying, per se. This is a book about this life and the unexpected path to living it to the full. We find that path through a right assessment of the aging process, one that is The True Story of Aging 4 distinctly Christian in its perspective. I believe that how we think about aging, and, relatedly, the aged themselves can alter the course of our lives either for the better or for the worse. More than that, I believe embracing and living from a Christian view of aging is one of the simplest ways believers can shine like stars in our current generation.

She goes on to connect the way our prolife convictions should inform our view of aging:

For generations, Christians have believed and affirmed the true story that life is a gift from God in all of its stages. Our whole-life pro-life commitment means we believe every person at every stage of life is made in the image of God. We make a conscious commitment to value all of human life, from beginning to end—or from dust to dust, as the centuries-old graveside liturgy expresses it. But we inhabit a world that is dead set on living in a false story of aging—one that values, at most, only the first half of life but does not value its second half of bodily decline.

The Christian whole-life pro-life commitment is beautiful on our lips, but it is more beautiful as it moves to our hands and feet. We assert that all of life is valuable in all of its stages, but do we prove we believe that story by living in a way that reflects this conviction? We will ask that question on repeat in the chapters to come. One of the simplest ways for the modern church to live counterculturally is to embrace, defend, and live as though we value all of life, including the latter parts. But to do so, we must grapple with—and, I believe, reject wholesale—the prevailing attitudes toward decline and death that make up a whopper of a false story.

You can read the whole first chapter here.

Watch Jen share more in this video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FYg3aTSMm8o

Questions about Heaven and Animals: My Interview with Sean McDowell

Randy Alcorn — Fri, 02 Oct 2026 00:00:00 -0700

Last February, I recorded an interview with Sean McDowell about my book All God’s Creatures. The video was just released this week on Sean’s YouTube channel.

I’ve been greatly encouraged by the comments. I anticipated a certain amount of pushback, but overall, there have been some amazing and warm responses to this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8Wik2MEhIk

0:00 Intro
1:08 Why he wrote a book about animals
2:25 What do you mean by "heaven"?
5:55 Isaiah 11 and animals at peace
7:42 Christoplatonism and a misconception of the afterlife
12:30 Does God care about animals?
16:44 Animals in the life of Jesus
18:31 The longest monologue in the Bible
23:11 Do animals have souls?
28:10 Romans 8 and a groaning creation
29:43 Restoration of all things
31:17 Will our pets be on the new earth?
37:40 Might animals talk?
41:43 Oceans and sea creatures
48:52 Why does God allow animals to suffer?
50:51 Hunting, fishing, and meat eating
54:30 What surprised him most

Sean’s parents Josh and Dottie McDowell were our studio audience, and then we had a wonderful dinner with them and Sean’s daughter and friends. People still say that Josh McDowell has spoken live to more young people than anyone in history—not just any evangelist or apologist, but anyone at all!

Josh is a hero to me and over the years, became a good friend. Now he has dementia, but during our visit, he had great moments of clarity, wit, and humor that were wonderful. Josh and I used to laugh all the time when together, and now it's Sean and I laughing.

Josh had a huge impact on me and Nanci through his apologetic works such as More Than a Carpenter and Evidence That Demands a Verdict. For decades I passed out More Than a Carpenter to unbelievers and young believers more than any other book, and others obviously did the same since it has sold over 15 million copies (Sean assisted his dad in revising that book).

Josh and I would have lunch together whenever he came to Portland area. Dottie is a treasure, and took all the photos of our interview. As a YouTuber and social media guy, Sean is the master of the selfie. 😂 In this photo, I'm taking a picture of Josh and Dottie. ♥️

I truly enjoyed my time with Sean. We went on a fabulous two-hour bike ride down to three beautiful beaches, including Dana Point, from his house in San Juan Capistrano. By the time we got home it was 85°, and Sean said it was the warmest day in February he could remember.

I thank God for Sean and his ministry! I encourage you to check out more of the videos on his YouTube channel.

Lessons from Ben Sasse about Life, Death, and Politics

Alex Harris — Wed, 30 Sep 2026 00:00:00 -0700

Note from Randy: All human beings have a terminal disease called mortality. The death rate is 100 percent. Unless Christ returns soon, we’re all going to die. We don’t like to think about death; yet, worldwide, 3 people die every second, 180 every minute, and nearly 11,000 every hour.

In my novel Safely Home, the main character Li Quan every day asked himself the same question: “Is this the day I die?” That day is coming for us all. If we are smart, we will make sure we are prepared for that day. Facing our own mortality sobers us, causing us to evaluate what matters most. When we realize that what’s most important is what’s eternal, we will live differently. During her cancer journey, my wife Nanci wrote in her journal:

It is a mercy from God to me that I regularly face my mortality. It is a mercy that I struggle constantly with feet and hands that don’t work right; with energy levels that prevent me from many activities. The mercy in these things is that these are God’s tools used to keep my eyes on Him; to live with His perspective; to anticipate with greater zeal my eternal home; and most importantly to fall deeper in love with Him.

An eternal perspective is also reflected in the words and life of Senator Ben Sasse, who is dying of pancreatic cancer and sharing publicly about his journey. My friend Alex Harris wrote a wonderful article about Senator Sasse and the lessons we can learn from him about our current political climate.

I’ve known and appreciated Alex Harris for many years, since he was a teenager and wrote Do Hard Things with his twin brother Brett. Alex is now an attorney and fellow at The Keller Center for Cultural Apologetics. He’s also one of the most humble and servant-hearted people I know. (He flew out to Nanci’s memorial service and joined the clean up crew, and was one of the very last people to leave. Many people asked, “Who’s that young man in that sharp suit who is cleaning up?”)

My thanks to Alex for allowing us to share this article.

Redeem the Time: What Ben Sasse Teaches Us About Life, Death, and Politics

By Alex Harris

Ben Sasse is dying. In December, the former U.S. senator from Nebraska was diagnosed with stage IV metastasized pancreatic cancer—a death sentence. Clinical trials at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston have thankfully extended his remaining time with his wife and three children, but only temporarily.

Remarkably, Sasse has chosen to walk through the valley of the shadow of death in the public eye: speaking to journalists, going on podcasts, and even starting his own podcast, Not Dead Yet.

Through a string of public appearances, he hasn’t only borne witness to the hope we have in Christ in the face of death and suffering but has also clearly and intentionally sought—despite obvious pain and the cloud of morphine—to share honest reflections on a life spent in the worlds of business, academia, and politics. And his reflections leave believers with a framework for engaging what matters most.

Redeem the Time

For Sasse, these conversations are an attempt to follow the old Puritan precept, based on the apostle Paul’s admonition in Ephesians 5:16, to “redeem the time.” As he put it in a conversation with Peter Robinson on the Uncommon Knowledge podcast, “‘Redeem the time’ in my theology means it is a great blessing to be able to live a life of gratitude to God by doing stuff that tries to benefit your neighbor.”

For Sasse, that includes “trying to figure out what the important things are, . . . the eternal questions you need to wrestle through,” like “the relationship between sin and death and a broken world.” Redeeming the time also includes “the chance to hug on my wife this morning and to love my kids and to reflect on some important questions with my friend Peter.”

Whatever one thinks of Sasse’s politics during his eight years in the U.S. Senate—and there is much to be admired—there’s no questioning his thoughtfulness or credentials. Sasse is best known as a senator, but before his election in 2014, he was the executive director for the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals (which produced the Cambridge Declaration), served in multiple roles in the George W. Bush administration, was an assistant professor at the University of Texas, and was president of Midland University in Nebraska. He holds degrees from Harvard, St. John’s, and Yale, including a PhD in American history.

I commend all Sasse’s interviews to you, including his recent 60 Minutes interview with Scott Pelley. This is a cultural moment for end-of-life faithfulness that we should be discussing with family, friends, neighbors, and coworkers.

Sasse’s Interesting Times interview with New York Times columnist Ross Douthat has already sparked meaningful conversations about life, faith, and mortality among my law-firm colleagues. Where else will one see and hear a man staring death in the face—his own face bleeding from aggressive cancer treatments—proclaim to a secular audience,

I got my diagnosis in mid-December, . . . I was incredibly blessed to be quickly at peace. I kept hearing the Pauline phrase, “To live is Christ, to die is gain.”

Death is terrible. We should never sugarcoat it. It is not how things are meant to be. But it is great that death can be called the final enemy. It’s an enemy, but it’s a final enemy, and there will then be no more tears.

I believe in the Resurrection, and I believe in a restoration of this world. . . .

I don’t feel ready. But to whom would I go? . . .

[Jesus] says: You can’t keep the children from me. And we’re told that we get to approach the Almighty, we get to approach the divine and call him Daddy, Abba, Father? That’s pretty glorious. And I know that that’s what I need.

These are words worthy of our time and reflection.

Serve the World

Sasse doesn’t, however, limit himself to commentary on death or eternity. He wants to spark conversations about the here and now, too, to serve the people, the nation, and the world he’ll soon leave behind. Given his experience and transparency as a believer who has walked the halls of power, it’s worth reflecting specifically on what this brother in Christ has to say about the challenges of our current political moment.

What can we as believers learn about the proper role of politics from a dying former U.S. senator? Consider four of Sasse’s observations.

1. Politics is important, but it’s not everything.

As Christians, we should care about politics. I think this is part of what Sasse is getting at when he says, “Let’s have one or two cheers for politics, neither zero nor three.” To have zero cheers for politics means “pretending the world isn’t broken,” while three “pretends power and coercion could be the center of your worldview.” Either approach is an error for the believer.

Rightly understood, politics is simply the way people order and do life together in a society, which means politics is one primary means by which we love our neighbor. As believers, we cannot be indifferent to politics, because it touches every aspect of our lives, our families, our businesses, our churches, and our communities on issues ranging from education, housing, taxation, and criminal justice to immigration, religious liberty, military action, and beyond.

At the same time, politics isn’t everything. We engage in politics to love our neighbor and advance the gospel, while recognizing that this world is not our home and that our hope is in Christ, not policies, politicians, or parties. In that sense, a believer’s posture toward politics is one expression of our posture toward the world in general.

In 1 Peter 2:11, Peter calls us “sojourners and exiles.” In 2 Corinthians 5:20, Paul describes us as “ambassadors for Christ.” Our words and actions, the manner in which we engage and advocate in the public square, represent the kingdom of God to the world.

Sasse’s observation here is a simple diagnostic for our hearts: What elicits our enthusiasm, and to what degree? Have we turned our backs on politics, fed up with the current climate—a zero-cheers approach? Or have we allowed it to supplant our true source of hope and become all-consuming—a three-cheers approach?

2. The digital landscape misrepresents reality.

One of the easiest ways our political engagement gets distorted is when we equate politics with online debates and social media “flame wars”. This digital landscape misrepresents reality. According to a 2020 Pew Research study, fewer than a quarter of U.S. adults were on Twitter (now X). Just 10 percent of those users—a little more than 2 percent of adults—created more than 90 percent of the content.

Many of those voices are loud and angry. Some are trolls or bad-faith actors, trying to sow discord and division. As Sasse puts it, “We don’t know how to have a conversation right now because we give all the voice to the loudest, angriest people.” People are “screaming all the time on the internet, and we pretend they’re representative.” But here’s the key thing to remember: “Most people aren’t that angry.”

This is true on both sides of the aisle. The loudest and most extreme voices on the political left and the political right don’t reflect how the majority of people on the “other side” think. And most people are far more combative and unreasonable behind a digital screen, performing for their tribe, than they’d ever be in real life. These distortions lead us to assume the worst and sabotage real conversation.

3. We need to jealously guard our affections.

The zero-sum game of politics tends to focus our attention on power and on what happens in Washington, DC, away from our immediate neighbors, local communities, and what Edmund Burke called the “little platoons.” Or to use Sasse’s words, “The places where you raise your kids and the places where you’re breaking bread every night and where you worship and where you work . . . [are] the most important places.”

Some of us may be called to active service on the national political stage, but for most believers, our calling (and opportunity for greatest influence) is to love and serve the communities where God has planted us. In these contexts, we’re most likely to identify problems we truly understand and can actually do something about—problems with solutions that often cut across the hyperpartisan divides of DC politics.

To give one example, I had the opportunity a few years back to use my legal training on behalf of my neighbors in a hearing before our local liquor-licensing board. We were seeking to address a series of disturbances from a new bar that left the surrounding streets littered with beer bottles, burned rubber, and bullet casings. Most of my neighbors have different political and faith backgrounds from my family and me, but it turned out those differences didn’t matter when people were drunkenly firing guns outside our homes at 2:30 a.m.

“Power isn’t the main thing; our loves are the main thing,” Sasse says. Those loves are best cultivated in thick community that grounds us in reality and helps bind us to our neighbors. Unhealthy forms of political engagement and media consumption can hijack that process. Over time, our habits in this area can shape and twist our souls.

This is the lesson of Proverbs 13:20: “Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm.” We become like our companions. We grow to love what they love.

Most of us tend not to think of the podcasts we listen to, the YouTube videos we watch, the articles we read, or the endless social media posts we scroll through as “companions” influencing us to become wise or to grow more foolish. Yet we often spend far more time each week with these companions than we spend at church, studying Scripture, or in fellowship with wise believers.

As followers of Christ, who (and what) are we allowing to influence our affections?

4. Politics is just a symptom.

It’s easy to say that our politics and national discourse are broken, but as a historian, Sasse says there are bigger trends afoot: “50 or 75 or 100 years from now, when you look back at our moment, we’re mostly not going to talk about our politics. We’re going to believe we were living through a technological revolution that created economic and cultural revolutions that way downstream from that had political consequences.”

Sasse is referring to the digital revolution, encompassing everything from the internet to social media to artificial intelligence. If he’s right, meeting this moment as faithful believers isn’t about winning at the ballot box. Instead, it’s about learning how to navigate this technological and cultural revolution without allowing our souls to be deformed. How can the church be the church, “a city set on a hill” (Matt. 5:14), noticeably apart and distinct from the surrounding darkness in a period of such upheaval?

There are no easy answers to these questions, but it’s a credit to Ben Sasse and his dogged commitment to redeem the time that he’s challenging all of us to ask them. Sasse has a lot of hard-earned wisdom to impart, including some that only comes when facing a terminal diagnosis. Like the wise companion of Proverbs 13, he’s inviting us to walk with him through that dark valley.

Let’s not pass up this opportunity.

This article originally appeared on The Gospel Coalition, and is used with permission of the author.

Remembering and Recognizing One Another in Heaven

Randy Alcorn — Mon, 28 Sep 2026 00:00:00 -0700

When we get to Heaven, one writer claims, “We will not even remember this old world we call Earth, . . . nor will we even recall it! It simply will not come into our minds.”

This misperception is widely believed, but the Bible says no such thing!

Memory is basic to personality. The principle of redemptive continuity indicates that we will remember our past lives. Heaven cleanses our slate of sin and error, but it doesn’t erase our memory of it. The lessons we learned here about God’s love, grace, and justice surely aren’t lost but will carry over to Heaven. Father Boudreau states, “For the sins which so often made us tremble, are washed away in the blood of Jesus, and are, therefore, no longer a source of trouble. The remembrance of them rather intensifies our love for the God of mercy, and therefore increases our happiness.”

Isaiah 65:17 is often cited as proof that in the eternal state we won’t remember our present lives: “Behold, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind.” However, this verse should be viewed in context. It’s linked to the previous verse, in which God says, “The past troubles will be forgotten and hidden from my eyes.” This doesn’t suggest literal lack of memory, as if the omniscient God couldn’t recall the past. Rather, it’s like God saying, “I will . . . remember their sins no more” (Jeremiah 31:34). It doesn’t mean that God has a mental lapse but that He chooses not to bring up our past sins or hold them against us. In eternity, former sins and sorrows won’t preoccupy God or us. We’ll be capable of choosing not to recall or dwell on anything that would diminish Heaven’s joy. That is not the same as having our memories disappear and our relationships dissolve.

If we forget we were desperate sinners, how could we appreciate the depth and meaning of Christ’s redemptive work for us?

We’ll never forget that our sins nailed Jesus to the cross; for Christ’s resurrection body still has nail-scarred hands and feet (John 20:24-29). Even though God will wipe away the tears and sorrow attached to this world, He will not erase human history and Christ’s intervention from our minds. Heaven’s happiness won’t be dependent on our ignorance of what happened on Earth. Rather, it will be enhanced by perspective, our informed appreciation of God’s glorious grace and justice as we grasp what really happened here.

The Greek word for truth, aletheia, is a negated form of the verb “to forget,” so that knowing the truth means to stop forgetting. On the New Earth, there will be memorials to the twelve tribes and the apostles (Revelation 21:12-14). This indicates continuity and memory of history. If we’re aware of other past events on the old Earth, surely we’ll be aware of our own.

When asked if we would recognize friends in Heaven, George MacDonald responded, “Shall we be greater fools in Paradise than we are here?”

Yet many people wonder whether we’ll know each other in Heaven. It’s a question I’m often asked—but why? Because of the pervasiveness of Christoplatonism, which teaches that the spiritual is incompatible with the physical. But Christ, in His incarnation and resurrection, laid claim not only to the spiritual realm but to the physical realm as well. His redemption wasn’t only of spirits but also of bodies and of the earth. The false assumption behind the question of whether we’ll recognize loved ones in Heaven is that we’ll be disembodied spirits who lose our identities and memories—and how would someone recognize a spirit?

Christ’s disciples recognized Him countless times after His resurrection. They recognized Him on the shore as He cooked breakfast for them (John 21). They recognized Him when He appeared to a skeptical Thomas (John 20:24-29). They recognized Him when He appeared to five hundred people at once (1 Corinthians 15:6).

At Christ’s transfiguration, His disciples identified Moses and Elijah, even though they couldn’t have known what they looked like (Luke 9:29-33). Scripture gives no indication of a memory wipe that would cause us not to recognize family and friends. Paul anticipated being with the Thessalonians in Heaven, and it never occurred to him that he wouldn’t know them or recognize them. In fact, if we wouldn’t know our loved ones, the “comfort” of an afterlife reunion, taught in 1 Thessalonians 4:14-18, would be no comfort at all.

Missionary Amy Carmichael had strong convictions on this question:

Shall we know one another in Heaven? Shall we love and remember? I do not think anyone need wonder about this or doubt for a single moment. . . . For if we think for a minute, we know. Would you be yourself if you did not love and remember? . . . We are told that we shall be like our Lord Jesus. Surely this does not mean in holiness only, but in everything; and does not He know and love and remember? He would not be Himself if He did not, and we should not be ourselves if we did not.

Father, thank you that we have every reason to look forward to recognizing and remembering our family and friends in Heaven and rejoicing together in your presence for the lives we shared and the trials we faced together. In that day we will see with clarity your purposes and know without a doubt your goodness and love in the midst of the hard times of loss and confusion and grief we experienced on this earth. Lord, remind us that every good-bye to a loved one who knows you is not the end of our relationship but only an interruption, to be followed by a glorious reunion and grateful remembrance of our shared lives.

Excerpted from 50 Days of Heaven: Reflections that Bring Eternity to Light.

We Can Trust That God Will Use Our Most Painful Suffering for Great Good

Randy Alcorn — Fri, 25 Sep 2026 00:00:00 -0700

A Jesus-loving young friend who is going through deep suffering sent me these wonderful words:

“I pray God just keeps refining me into the person He wants me to be through this. I want my face to shine like Nanci’s when she talks about her Creator and all that the Ancient of Days did.”

I loved what she said about God continuing to refine her “through this” into the person He wants her to be! Sometimes our focus is only on “remove this suffering or hardship” instead of “use this.” While suffering is not good, God can use it to accomplish immeasurable good. This knowledge should give us great confidence that even when we don’t see any redemptive meaning in our suffering, God can see it—and one day we will too. Therefore, we need not run from suffering or lose hope if God doesn’t remove it or do so as quickly as we’d like. We can trust that God has a purpose for whatever He permits.

I was especially touched by what my friend said about Nanci. She truly did exemplify a profound trust in a sovereign God working all things together for her good. Her primary goal was not to “beat cancer,“ although she diligently did everything she was called on to do to fight that battle. But she knew that some things were beyond her control and were only under God‘s control. And she was truly at peace with that.

I miss Nanci every day, but the sorrow is sweet in its own way. I cannot think of her without feelings of extreme gratitude. Through her suffering, she went from being very godly to being a true saint in the full sense. (See Can Cancer Be God’s Servant? What I Saw in My Wife’s Last Four Years.)

Not long ago, I was sent this photo of Nanci when she was 30 years old, co-leading a high school group at our church. Check out the amazing look on her face, especially her eyes and smile! I saw that look often and it is one of the things I miss most about her. The single thing I miss the most is the sound of her loud laughter that filled the house!

If I have learned anything in these four and a half years Nanci has been with Jesus, and the years that led up to her death, it is that I can simultaneously feel great sorrow and grief, and yet feel that sorrow eclipsed by the greater joy that Jesus gives.

I like this longer version of the serenity prayer:

“God grant me the serenity
To accept the things I cannot change;
Courage to change the things I can;
And wisdom to know the difference.
Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
Taking, as He did, this sinful world
As it is, not as I would have it;
Trusting that He will make all things right
If I surrender to His Will;
So that I may be reasonably happy in this life
And supremely happy with Him
Forever and ever in the next. Amen.”

I recommended that my friend listen to some resources from Elisabeth Elliott, widow of martyred missionary Jim Elliott. Elisabeth spoke at our church many years ago. Here she is speaking on “Suffering Is Not for Nothing”:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_p8Z_Ae3YBM

Elisabeth has a wonderful audiobook that’s just 3 1/2 hours long, titled Suffering Is Never for Nothing (it’s read by a narrator, but it’s Elisabeth’s words).

Here are some quotes from her book:

“The deepest things that I have learned in my own life have come from the deepest suffering. And out of the deepest waters and the hottest fires have come the deepest things that I know about God.”

“Whatever is in the cup that God is offering to me, whether it be pain and sorrow and suffering and grief along with the many more joys, I’m willing to take it because I trust Him.”

“We need Jesus Christ, our refuge, our fortress, the stronghold of my life. It takes desolation to teach us our need of Him.”

“There have been some hard things in my life, of course, as there have been in yours, and I cannot say to you, I know exactly what you’re going through. But I can say that I know the One who knows. And I’ve come to see that it’s through the deepest suffering that God has taught me the deepest lessons. And if we’ll trust Him for it, we can come through to the unshakable assurance that He’s in charge. He has a loving purpose. And He can transform something terrible into something wonderful. Suffering is never for nothing.”

Does the Bible Refer to Pets?

Randy Alcorn — Wed, 23 Sep 2026 00:00:00 -0700

I’ve heard multiple people claim, “There are no pets in the Bible.” But that’s simply not true. In Job, the oldest book of the Bible—probably written in the days of Abraham—God asks, “Can you make a pet of Leviathan as you would a bird or put it on a leash for your girls?” (Job 41:5, NCV). This shows that birds—and no doubt other animals—were beloved pets that parents gave to their children.

In Mark 7:28, the Canaanite woman speaks to Jesus about dogs under the table eating scraps that fall from the children’s plates. The Greek word here is not kyōn, the common word used for wild dogs, who were scavengers. Rather, it is kynaria, a diminutive form of kyōn that literally means “little dogs” or puppies, suggestive of an affectionate term for domesticated dogs—that is, pets. Wild dogs posed a threat to people, so they were never allowed inside homes. And certainly not at a dinner table around children! Any dog eating scraps was a beloved pet, who likely also provided protection for a family.

In Philippians 3:2, when Paul writes, “Beware of the dogs,” he is not referring to literal animals. In the ancient Jewish and Greco-Roman world, wild dogs ran in the streets, carried diseases, and terrorized people. Hence “dogs” became a figure of speech for dangerous or impure people. Paul uses it for false teachers. The warning concerns spiritual deception and has no connection whatsoever to tame animals, including household pets. (Likewise, “outside are the dogs” in Revelation 22:15 refers to evil-doing people, not to actual canines.)

A third biblical example of pets is in the story God gave the prophet Nathan to tell King David:

There were two men in a certain town. One was rich, and one was poor. The rich man owned a great many sheep and cattle. The poor man owned nothing but one little lamb he had bought. He raised that little lamb, and it grew up with his children. It ate from the man’s own plate and drank from his cup. He cuddled it in his arms like a baby daughter. One day a guest arrived at the home of the rich man. But instead of killing an animal from his own flock or herd, he took the poor man’s lamb and killed it and prepared it for his guest.

2 Samuel 12:1-4

Nothing in this story suggests the man’s affection for his lamb was abnormal or weird. This bond between human and animal was relatable—especially to David, a former shepherd. The treasured lamb wasn’t just livestock; it was family. And it was certainly a pet.

There’s no indication that the man should be seen as wrong to cuddle his pet lamb or grieve its loss. On the contrary, his devotion was honored. The story resonated with David, and later with readers of 2 Samuel, presumably because such relationships were common and natural in Hebrew culture, just as they are in ours today.

Sure, people are more central and valuable, but animals rank far above everything else in creation. (The silver medal isn’t bad!)

Can we go overboard in loving pets? Sure. We can turn them into idols. Idolatry can extend to anything we prioritize above God, including our families, careers, or hobbies. Loving animals appropriately means recognizing their place in God’s creation without elevating them above their intended role.

John Piper answered the question, “Do pets distract the Christian life?” by first acknowledging that, just like every other good thing in life—food, family, church, work, hobbies, sports, entertainment, cars, clothes, home improvement projects, exercise, and hanging out with friends, etc.—pets can become a distraction. But if we had no pets, he asks, “would that time. . . be devoted to more refreshing, more encouraging, more edifying, more loving, more God-glorifying tasks?” Not automatically.

Reflecting on his goldendoodle, Dusty, Piper said, “She loves people more than food. She overflows with affection without testing your character first. She is indomitably happy, rain or shine. She holds no grudges whatsoever, no matter how she is treated. Her youth at eight seems to be renewed like the eagle’s.” And he concedes, “Even with the Holy Spirit, I struggle to do those things.”

Piper concludes with an observation I have also found to be true: “Having a pet may fall into the category of God-saturated fascination and joy.”

A heart captivated by love for God does not say, “I will only love God—no one and nothing else.” It says, “Because I love God above all, I will better love people and animals and art and literature and music and sports and everything else good in life.”

Animals and people together glorify God. Gary Kurz observes, “[Animals] were so important to the habitat of mankind that God made them first so that they would be in place when people arrived.”

Many scholars believe Jesus is personified as Wisdom in Proverbs 8, where He says to His Father, “I was daily his delight, rejoicing before him always, rejoicing in his inhabited world and delighting in the children of man” (Proverbs 8:30-31, ESV).

Notice the phrase “rejoicing in his inhabited world,” which seems to be distinct from “delighting in the children of man.” The latter of course refers to Christ’s delight in humans, but the former would include His rejoicing over animals, who also populate the Earth He made. If Jesus can rejoice in animals, surely we can rejoice in them too, glimpsing our Lord’s originality and beauty. Loving animals should not be viewed as unspiritual. It can be profoundly spiritual. It all depends on whether God is primary or secondary in our hearts and minds.

Excerpted from All God’s Creatures: What the Bible Says About Animals, Heaven, and the New Earth.

Costi Hinn on Escaping the Prosperity Gospel

Randy Alcorn — Mon, 21 Sep 2026 00:00:00 -0700

Prosperity theology teaches that God will bless with material abundance and good health those who obey Him and lay claim to His promises. “We don’t have to wait for God’s blessing in the life to come,” this ideology claims. “He’ll send it to us here and now.” God is seen as a great no-lose lottery in the sky, a cosmic slot machine into which you put in a coin and pull the lever, then stick out your hat and catch the winnings.

When I first wrote about the dangers of prosperity theology in my book Money, Possessions and Eternity in 1989, not many voices were speaking out against it. I’m glad far more pastors and teachers are doing so today. One such important voice is Costi Hinn, the nephew of faith healer Benny Hinn. I’ve followed his story over the last few years and shared about his book God, Greed, and the (Prosperity) Gospel. (Costi has also been my grandson Jake and his wife Richie’s pastor for the past three years, and he officiated their wedding. I love and appreciate Costi and his heart for the Lord and His people.)

Costi grew up participating in his uncle’s “ministry.” He stayed at $25,000-a-night royal suites, flew in a private Gulfstream, and dressed in custom suits. But Costi’s false belief system was dismantled as he studied Scripture. He writes:

What an insult to make Jesus into a lottery ticket! Jesus didn’t die on the cross to provide a steady stream of Bentley’s, Big Diamonds, and Botox. He died on the cross to provide our atonement. We deserved wrath for sin, but He took our place. We deserved an eternity in hell but He ensured heaven would be home for those who put their faith in Him.

As Costi discovered, God has a much bigger eternal plan for us than living a temporary life of self-indulgent luxury! He shares much more about his story in his interview with apologist Sean McDowell, which is powerful. I don’t think I’ve ever heard Sean be so quiet, but with very good reason:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJzjR5WTXcg?is=9ZZrJB6iYEPc05Y0

A few years ago, I was honored to be guest on Costi’s podcast For the Gospel, talking about living with an eternal perspective. You can listen to the episode here.

And in 2024, I did a series of Q&A videos with Costi for his podcast For the Gospel:

How Do You Get into Heaven?

Will We Eat in Heaven?

What Does a Christian Who Is Mourning Need to Know?

How Should Christians View Money?

How Should We Think about Giving?

Why You Don’t Need a Bucket List

I encourage you to check out Costi’s website For the Gospel, with lots of great articles, podcast episodes, and other resources.

Meet the First Embryo Ever Adopted, Now a 27-Year-Old Young Woman

Randy Alcorn — Fri, 18 Sep 2026 00:00:00 -0700

On social media, I shared a post about how human lives are valuable from their very beginning:

Like toddler and adolescent, the terms embryo and fetus don’t refer to nonhumans but to humans at particular stages of development. Fetus is a Latin word variously translated “offspring,” “young one,” or “little child.” It’s scientifically inaccurate to say a human embryo or a fetus is not a human being simply because a baby is at an earlier stage of development than an infant. This is like saying that a toddler isn’t a human being because he or she is not yet an adolescent. “For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb” (Psalm 139:13, ESV).

I received a response from a young woman, Hannah Strege, who wrote: “Thank you for saying this, Randy. As the first adopted frozen embryo born, I’ve lived this reality. Embryo isn’t a different kind of being. It’s the earliest stage of a human life. I didn’t become human later. I simply grew.”

Hannah's mom, Marlene, also sent me a message and explained that years ago she and her husband John adopted 20 frozen embryos from a couple who had undergone IVF, but were unable to parent any more children. As a result, Marlene carried and gave birth to their daughter Hannah.

Marlene says, “Dr. James Dobson was one of four that I asked the question, ‘What would God think about adopting frozen embryos?’ We did our first broadcast with him when Hannah was five months old. At the end of the broadcast he said, ‘I just feel like this child’s godfather. May I have that role?’” The Streges told him, “Of course!” (Read more about their story in an article here, as well as in a book John authored, titled A Snowflake Named Hannah: Ethics, Faith, and the First Adoption of a Frozen Embryo.)

Hannah, now 27, and Marlene testified in Missouri regarding a Personhood Amendment. When they returned home, Hannah was encouraged to record her testimony to share online. This eight-minute video from Hannah is heart stirring. After watching it, I feel like I know her. Not only was she the first of her kind, but her presentation was the first of its kind I have ever seen! I find myself still thinking about it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7rpleaoOss

Here’s a portion of her presentation, but I certainly encourage you to listen to the whole thing:

Before I had a heartbeat in a womb, before I had a birth certificate, before I had a name, I had an inventory number. For two years and nine months, I existed in a frozen canister of liquid nitrogen. My legal status was not child, it was property.

My name is Hannah Strege. I'm 27 years old, a licensed social worker, and to my knowledge, the first adopted frozen embryo in the world. When my parents adopted me and my 19 siblings, we had already existed for nearly three years, not in a nursery, not in a home, but in storage—biologically human, yet treated under property law.

There are federally protected animal species in this country whose embryos and eggs receive explicit legal safeguards. Bald eagle embryos are protected. Certain turtle eggs are protected. Yet human embryos, children like I once was, may be bought, sold, abandoned, and destroyed. In many jurisdictions, they are handled through property law frameworks. I am before you now as someone who has once lived under that classification.

Hannah’s powerful words serve as a wakeup call to everyone who’s never thought about frozen embryos, which probably includes most followers of Jesus. Just as abortion survivors brought a whole new light on abortion, likewise frozen embryo survivors bring a whole new light to this issue!

Sadly, estimates suggest that as a result of IVF (in vitro fertilization), there are somewhere between 1 to 10 million frozen human embryos currently in storage in the U.S. Not only should we think about them, we should actively care about them and encourage people to adopt frozen embryos if they are willing to give birth to them. While the birth mom is not the genetic mom, the bonding that comes with giving birth to them and being the mother who cares for them will always be hers and her children’s.

There is something sacred about this, to speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves—not only children already conceived and growing in the womb, but also children already conceived but existing in an ongoing frozen state that they could be delivered from. These are God's image bearers, and both He and they deserve for them to be treated as such.

The spiritual implications are stunning: on the one hand, disturbing when embryos are disposed of; on another hand, disturbing when they remain frozen. But what joy at the prospect of them being adopted by a mother committed to caring for them by placing them in her womb! (If you’d like to learn more about embryo adoption, the Strege family recommends Flourish Adoption Ministries. My thanks to Marlene, John, and Hannah for sharing their story and pictures!)

Dr. John Lennox on the Anticipation of Seeing Jesus Soon

Randy Alcorn — Wed, 16 Sep 2026 00:00:00 -0700

Dr. John Lennox is a mathematician, philosopher, apologist, and best-selling author. As a young study, John sat in on C. S. Lewis’s final lectures at Cambridge, and years later, debated Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens. He’s lived a remarkable life, which he’s shared about in his new book My Story: A Spiritual & Intellectual Autobiography. (I also learned recently that’s John is the uncle of the talented Christian singer and songwriter Kristyn Getty!)

Last year John did an interview for the Sing conference about finishing life well, a topic that’s close to my heart. I especially love what he says about anticipating seeing Jesus, which reminds me of my wife Nanci’s final journal entry: “I will see Jesus pretty soon!!!”

Here’s that clip from John’s interview.

Here's the full interview:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EW7-4OgmrI0

John was on Sean McDowell’s podcast this year, sharing more about his life story:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3kDmWKNVJuU

Readers Respond to Our New Children’s Book Heaven on Earth

Randy Alcorn — Mon, 14 Sep 2026 00:00:00 -0700

My new children's book Heaven on Earth: When God Makes Everything New, which I wrote with my friend Lisa Tawn Bergren, released this summer, and it’s been fun to see the readers’ responses to it. Though I’ve written several other children’s books (Heaven for Kids, Tell Me About Heaven, and Wait Until Then) what makes Heaven on Earth unique is that it’s geared for a younger audience—children ages 3-7. The beautiful illustrations by James Bernardin make it especially appealing to young readers (and older ones too!).

My friend Cliff Lea, who pastors First Baptist Church in Leesburg, Florida, shared this on X:

I gave your new children’s book a grandkid and uncle test run last night. It is outstanding. And I highly recommend to all.

A reader left this comment on my Facebook page:

I know it was written for kids, but I ordered a copy for myself! It is beautifully written and offers a lot of comfort.

Another left this review on Amazon:

I wish I could give this book 10 stars! The illustrations are absolutely beautiful and life-like and will capture the imagination of both children and adults. This wonderful book thoughtfully and biblically addresses the question so many children and adults ask: “What will heaven be like?” It offers comfort, reassurance, and hope while helping children look forward to the promises God has given us about eternity with Him. This is the kind of book families will want to read together again and again and keep as a treasured part of their home library. A must-have book for every family!

My friend Jim sent me this:

Just finished reading your book to two of my grandchildren. They listened intently all the way to the end and really liked it. It will be read to many other grandchildren soon. Thank you for the gift of such a great book with a relevant message.

I firmly believe that we can’t expect our children to be excited about Heaven—or to stay excited about it when they grow up—if we don’t share the biblical truth with them.

Ironically, some of the best portrayals I’ve seen of the eternal Heaven actually are in children’s books. Why? Because they depict earthly scenes, with animals and people playing, and joyful activities. The books for adults, on the other hand, often try to be philosophical, profound, ethereal, and otherworldly. But that kind of Heaven is precisely what the Bible doesn’t portray as the place where we’ll live forever.

If we do not grasp the biblical doctrine of the New Earth, we will never understand what the Bible actually promises us about the eternal Heaven. It will be a forever embodied, resurrected earth, a global Eden, filled with what Eden was full of, including rivers and trees and fruit and embodied animals and human beings. Colossians 1:20 is one of multiple passages that speak of the world to come, where God's promise is “through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.”

Sometimes Deuteronomy 29:29 is used to derail discussions about envisioning and anticipating Heaven: “The secret things belong to the Lord our God” (Deuteronomy 29:29). Heaven is regarded as a “secret thing.” But the rest of the verse—again, rarely quoted—completes the thought: “But the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever.”

We should accept that many things about Heaven are secret and that God has countless surprises in store for us. But as for the things God has revealed to us about Heaven, these things belong to us and to our children. It’s critically important that we study and understand them.

“Set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God” (Colossians 3:1). This is a direct command to set our hearts on Heaven. And to make sure we don’t miss the importance of a Heaven-centered life, the next verse says, “Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.” God commands us to set our hearts and minds on Heaven.

May we and our children learn to envision the promised Heaven on Earth in a biblical and compelling way!

25 Years Later: Five Reflections on 9/11

Randy Alcorn — Fri, 11 Sep 2026 00:00:00 -0700

Today’s blog is excerpted from a lengthy article “19 Reflections on America’s Crisis,” which I wrote 25 years ago, in the days following 9/11. While this was originally written to Americans in the aftermath of September 11, 2001, much of it also applies to challenges related to present conflicts and natural disasters around the globe.

1. God is all-powerful, fully in control.

God was not caught by surprise on September 11, 2001. He “works all things after the counsel of his will” (Ephesians 1:11). Including those terrorist acts? Yes.

In well-meaning attempts to distance God from evil, some Christians have said things like “God didn’t want this to happen” and “God has nothing to do with terrorist acts.” True, He is not to blame for them, but if indeed He works all things after the counsel of His will, then obviously we can’t say He has “nothing to do” with them.

Scripture says, “When disaster comes to a city, has not the LORD caused it?” (Amos 3:6). After losing all his children, Job doesn’t say, “God had nothing to do with it,” but “the LORD gave and the LORD has taken away” (Job 1:21).

Nations will rise and fall, terrible things may happen, but through it all, “God is our refuge and strength, an ever present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea” (Psalm 46:1-2).

2. Suffering in this world is normal; Americans, like everyone else, have no promise of ease or immunity.

“Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed” (1 Peter 4:12-13).

Our hope should not be the illusion that we won’t suffer. Our hope should be that one day God will end our suffering (Revelation 21:4). Our hope should be in the fact that nothing in this world or outside it—no tragedies or accidents or terrorist attacks or anything else—shall separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:38-39).

3. God knows what it’s like to suffer.

God has never dished out any suffering He hasn’t taken on Himself. As a man He suffered (Hebrews 2:17-18; 4:15-16). Jesus Christ took upon Himself all the sins and evil of the world (2 Corinthians 5:21). On the cross, He underwent what was qualitatively an eternity of suffering in a time span of six hours.

Why? Because He loves us. No act of terrorism can take that from us—nor can it undermine the certainty of eternal life in Christ for all who trust in Him (1 John 5:11-13).

Where was God September 11? Where He always is—exalted in the heavens, indwelling the hearts of His children, comforting the afflicted, stretching out His nail-scarred hands in the offer of a redemption that costs us nothing, but cost Him everything. Where was God? Right there in the dust and ruins of broken planes and buildings and bodies, somehow accomplishing a purpose that will bring Him glory (Isaiah 48:9-11).

4. God has brought much good out of these terrible events, and will continue to.

“We rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope” (Romans 5:3). As much as we don’t want to go through it, suffering often builds our character and strengthens our faith.

Joseph said of his brothers who sold him into slavery, “You intended it for evil, but God intended it for good” (Genesis 50:20). God is a master of turning evil on its head, and thwarting Satan’s intention by bringing about good.

If God can bring the single greatest good in human history, the redemption of mankind, out of the single most horrible event in human history, the crucifixion of Christ, then He can bring good out of everything. If God made what could be called “Horrific Friday” into what we call “Good Friday,” can’t He bring good out of other evils?

5. We should remind ourselves daily that this world, as it now is, is not our home.

That day as I sat in front of the television stunned, watching the towers fall to the ground, I prayed for the suffering people, then said aloud, “This world is not my home.”

In my church, five days later, we sang “God Bless America,” which is a good prayer. But at the end, when I sang “My home, sweet home,” there was an asterisk in my heart next to the word “home.”

The Carpenter from Nazareth, my bridegroom and a builder by trade, has gone to prepare a home for me. One day I will live on a redeemed planet Scripture calls “The New Earth.” That will be my home. My ultimate home is not America. Every day I move closer to the day I’ll leave this world. If America were my true home, then every day of my life I’d be headed away from home. But because Heaven, where Jesus is, is my home, every day I’m not moving away from home, but toward it.

People of the world don’t need our reassurance that America is unshakable, that democracy will prevail, that our economy will recover, that death and suffering will not touch them, or that America or any country is a safe place to live. What they need, while living in the wreckage of this sin-stained earth, is to realize that the world’s main problem is that it’s inhabited by people like us, sinners in need of redemption. These thirsty people need us to reach out our hands and extend to them, as cold water, Christ’s offer of citizenship in another world, a coming eternal home described this way at the Book’s end:

“Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away. He who was seated on the throne said, ‘I am making everything new!’” (Revelation 21:3-5).

(See also Collin Hansen's article I Don’t Understand 9/11. But I Praise God Anyway.)

Generosity as Witness

Randy Alcorn — Wed, 09 Sep 2026 00:00:00 -0700

There’s an intriguing phrase in Acts 2:47 that describes the church in Jerusalem as “having favor with all the people.” What exactly were these early Christians doing that brought them such esteem? The preceding verses tell us: “And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts” (v. 45-46).

When unbelievers witnessed the generosity of these believers, they saw how they loved one another. Many came to faith partly through the power and integrity of this refreshing alternative to materialism: “And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved” (Acts 2:47, italics mine). Their generosity demonstrated the life-changing power of the gospel. While being attracted to the generous giving of Jesus-followers, unbelievers were attracted to the gospel of Jesus.

Paul says in 2 Corinthians 8:1: “We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia.” How was God’s grace demonstrated? Through their giving to needy Christians. In verse 6, Paul calls the Macedonians’ giving to help the hungry in Jerusalem an “act of grace.” The same Greek word is used for Christian giving and for God’s grace.

Christ’s grace motivates and puts in perspective our giving: “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich” (v. 9).

As thunder follows lightning, giving follows grace. When the lightning of God’s grace strikes us, the joyful giving of our time, talents, and treasures should follow.

In 1 Timothy 6:17–19, Paul makes clear it is God’s will for us to be open-handed givers, generous and rich in good deeds. This passage tells us that through giving, we’ll “take hold of that which is truly life.” The materialistic, self-centered life is not the “good life.” The true good life is the life of generosity. When we live that way, the world will notice.

Jesus said, “By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:35). Our tangible love for others witnesses to the gospel truth that Christ loves us and died for us. This is explicitly related to what 1 John 3:17–18 says: “But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.”

There is a long history of Christian generosity as a powerful witness. The Roman emperor Julian had an interesting complaint about early Christians: “The impious Galileans support not only their own poor but ours as well; everyone can see that our people lack aid from us.” The theologian Tertullian said, “It is our care of the helpless, our practice of loving kindness that brands us in the eyes of many of our opponents.”

Aristides, an unbeliever, was sent by Emperor Hadrian to spy out those people called “Christians.” His words to the emperor have reverberated through the centuries: “Behold! How they love one another.”

Helping the needy has always set Christians apart, showing the world that we operate on a radically different value system. What religions besides Christianity have established hospitals worldwide, or networks of famine relief and development to help starving people, victims of disasters, and refugees?

True, Scripture tells us not to give in order to be seen by men (Matthew 6:1). Glorifying God is our primary motive, and we should be careful to avoid pride. But sometimes our generosity will be seen by men and even should be, just like when the early Christians sold their property and gave away the proceeds.

Earlier in the same sermon where he says we’re not to give in order to be seen by men, Christ commands us “let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:16).

Acts 4:36-37 tells us that Barnabas sold a field and brought the money to the apostles. His act of generosity was commonly known among believers and permanently recorded in Acts. The body of Christ can benefit from seeing open models of generous giving like that of Barnabas. The world can benefit from seeing the Church’s generosity as an attractive witness to the grace of Christ.

Every local church also needs examples of other churches that are models of giving generously. When thousands of churches are giving more than half of their income to reach the lost, when they’re as excited about giving to the poor as they are about building projects, the world will observe God’s grace at work.

When the world sees the beauty of such generosity, they’ll be drawn to the good news of our Savior. They will notice our good deeds and glorify our Father in Heaven.

God’s People Don’t Become Angels at Death

Randy Alcorn — Mon, 07 Sep 2026 00:00:00 -0700

I’m often asked if people, particularly children, become angels when they die. The answer is no. Death is a relocation of the same person from one place to another. The place changes, but the person remains the same. The same person who becomes absent from his or her body becomes present with the Lord (2 Corinthians 5:8). The person who departs is the one who goes to be with Christ (Philippians 1:23).

Angels are angels. Humans are humans. Angels are beings with their own histories and memories, with distinct identities, reflected in the fact that they have personal names, such as Michael and Gabriel. Under God’s direction, they serve us on Earth (Hebrews 1:14). Michael the archangel serves under God, and the other angels, in various positions, serve under Michael (Daniel 10:13; Revelation 12:7). In Heaven human beings will govern angels (1 Corinthians 6:2-3).

Does This Matter?

When I shared about this topic on my Facebook page recently, we received 562 comments in response. Many commenters asked why this clarification even matters. Others wondered whether we should ever correct those who are grieving by sharing the biblical truth.

First, truth does matter. Scripture is clear that angels and humans are two very different types of beings. Unlike God and the angels, who are in essence spirits (John 4:24; Hebrews 1:14), human beings are by nature both spiritual and physical (Genesis 2:7). The fact that those who know Christ will forever remain human and one day experience resurrection is vital to our faith. Paul said that if there is no resurrection, “we are of all people most to be pitied” (1 Corinthians 15:19).

A grieving father wept as he told me, “I will never again hug my daughter.” I asked, “Don’t you believe in the resurrection?” He said, “Of course.” I responded, “But the resurrection means you will hug your daughter again and again!” Those who believe in the resurrection can grieve while consoling themselves that they will live forever with their Redeemer and their redeemed loved ones in their redeemed bodies on a redeemed earth.

Jesus Christ died to secure for us a resurrected life on a resurrected Earth. Let’s be careful to speak of our eternal future with Him in terms that deliver us from our misconceptions and do justice to the greatness of Christ’s redemptive work.

Second, grace also matters. Sometimes grieving hearts aren’t ready to hear the truth too soon after loss, but it is possible to share what Scripture says with those who are hurting—provided it is done carefully and sensitively, at the right time and in the right way. Scripture tells us this about Jesus: “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). Not 50% grace and 50% truth, but 100% of both. To be like Jesus is to be full of grace and truth.

In her book What Grieving People Wish You Knew, Nancy Guthrie writes, “So much of what other people say and what grieving people are tempted to grab hold of in the face of death is mere sentimentality or strange spirituality. Instead of taking hold of these things, we want to encourage grieving people to rely fully on the Scriptures and let the rock-solid truth revealed there be the ground underneath our unsteady feet and the anchor for our hopes.”

(A number of responses on that Facebook post mentioned the idea that our souls “sleep” until resurrection day. Other commenters questioned whether it’s biblical to say that our loved ones in Heaven might know at least some of what’s going on in our lives here on Earth. I’ve addressed soul sleep here, and the possibility of awareness in Heaven here.)

Meeting Angels

While we won’t become angels in Heaven, it appears that we will one day spend time with them. The fact that angels have served us on Earth will make meeting them in Heaven particularly fascinating. They may have been with us from childhood, protecting us, standing by us, doing whatever they could on our behalf (Matthew 18:10). They may have witnessed virtually every moment of our lives. Besides God Himself, no one could know us better.

What will it be like not only to have them show us around the present Heaven but also to walk and talk with them on the New Earth? What stories will they tell us, including what really happened that day at the lake thirty-five years ago when we almost drowned? They’ve guarded us, gone to fierce battle for us, served as God’s agents in answer to prayers. How great it will be to get to know these brilliant ancient creatures who’ve lived with God from their creation. We’ll consult them as well as advise them, realizing they too can learn from us, God’s image-bearers. Will an angel who guarded us be placed under our management?

If we really believed angels were with us daily, here and now, wouldn’t it motivate us to make wiser choices? Wouldn’t we feel an accountability to holy beings who serve us as God’s representatives?

Despite what some popular books say, there’s absolutely no biblical basis for trying to make contact with angels now. We’re to ask God, not angels, for wisdom (James 1:5). As Scripture says and as I portray in my novels Dominion, Lord Foulgrin’s Letters, and The Ishbane Conspiracy, Satan’s servants can “masquerade as servants of righteousness” and bring us messages that appear to be from God but aren’t (2 Corinthians 11:15).

Nevertheless, because Scripture teaches that one or more of God’s angels may be in the room with me now, every once in a while I say “Thank you” out loud. And sometimes I add, “I look forward to meeting you.” I can’t wait to hear their stories.

We won’t be angels, but we’ll be with angels—and that’ll be far better.

God’s People, Especially Those Grieving a Pet, Need a Biblical Perspective about Animals and the New Earth

Randy Alcorn — Fri, 04 Sep 2026 00:00:00 -0700

Since the 2004 publication of my book titled Heaven, I’ve heard easily a thousand questions about Heaven and the New Earth. The questions I hear most often are these: Will there be animals in Heaven? and, more specifically, Will our pets be there?

We’ve received many notes from readers over the years who recently lost or are anticipating the loss of their animals, and are grateful for the perspectives I’ve shared in Heaven and on my blog—especially after the deaths of our Dalmatian Moses and our Golden Retriever Maggie.

One person wrote, “We are mourning the loss of our cat. He was hit by a car and died in my arms. Can you give us encouragement as to whether we might be reunited someday?”

Another asked, “Our beloved dog died. Should I correct my kids when they say they can’t wait to play with him again in Heaven?”

Why do we wonder about a future for our pets in the far better world God promises? Well, given their importance in our lives, why wouldn’t we? Yes, God will make the New Earth primarily for humans. Nothing will diminish that. But people aren’t the only beings God loves, nor the only ones He made to live on the earth.

Many people, both children and adults, count their pets among their closest friends. Though their lives are shorter, pets are by our side more often than most people. These relationships involve loyalty, affection, comfort, and closeness without judgment. Writing about why the loss of a pet affects us to deeply, Tommy Tomlinson says, “When a loved one dies, it matters more. But when a dog dies, sometimes we feel it more.”

Pets are with us when no one else is. Sometimes they rescue us from the pit of loneliness. Who empowers them to do that for us? It’s not the devil; it’s God who created them to be our companions and bring us happiness! If they do that now in a world with suffering and death, why not in the redeemed world where there will be no more suffering and death?

Just recently a reader wrote us on Facebook:

Randy, it is through your words expressed about animals that introduced me to your writings. A follower of Jesus Christ as are you, my brother, I've long held the very same thoughts. We had experienced the parting of one of our four-legged family members and during my grieving and prayers to God for peace in my heart he led me to you. Thank you.

And another said:

I lost my heart and soul dog in March, shortly before you announced this book [All God’s Creatures]. The timing of your announcement actually gave me hope that I would be with her again as I felt the Lord sent the book announcement into my Facebook messenger at the moment of my deepest pain and doubt. She was with me 13.5 years. Her journey was cut short by bladder cancer. I cared for her for 19 months in the cancer journey before she said goodbye. It taught me so much about sacrificial love. And she loved me unconditionally. I think both of us would have given anything to stay together. While I wait for your book in November, I am reading Heaven and my hope is growing.

As Nanci and I have, many people sense a spiritual dimension in their bond with animals—involving an ongoing, two-way flow of happiness and friendship. So naturally we ask: Will our relationships with animals end permanently, or might they resume in God’s new creation and go on forever? It seemed like the right time to devote several years of research and an entire book to answering this question. I believe the far-reaching significance of the answer is far greater—and more God-exalting—than most Christians have imagined.

Louie Giglio, pastor of Passion City Church and founder of Passion Conferences, wrote this endorsement of the book:

In All God’s Creatures, Randy Alcorn sets his sights on a pivotal question: Will there be animals in Heaven or on the New Earth? Drawing on decades of thorough study and writing about Heaven, Randy brings a uniquely seasoned and trustworthy voice to this deeply personal topic through biblical wisdom, personal experience, and heartfelt animal stories. Randy invites us to believe Scripture and cling to the hope that God has a good plan for all his creatures.

I know that the two chapters in the Heaven book on animals, including one on pets, have impacted many people, and my hope is that All God’s Creatures will have a significant, and perhaps even widespread, impact on evangelical thinking that I believe is long overdue. I also envision the book helping people who are grieving and feeling hopeless after losing their beloved animals. The book’s reach and impact are totally up to God, but I am praying to that end! (Preview the introduction and first chapter here.)

From Beginning to End, Scripture Is Pro-Physical Bodies

Randy Alcorn — Wed, 02 Sep 2026 00:00:00 -0700

The ancient Hebrews were holistic in their perceptions of life. God made the body, and therefore the body was good. Greek thought, on the contrary, was characterized by a dualism in which the spiritual world was good, and the physical world was bad. Plato, for example, called the body a “prison” that held captive the soul. In his statement “Soma sema” (“a body, a tomb”), Plato suggested that the spirit’s highest destiny is to be free from the body. (What I call “Christoplatonism” still infects many churches, teaching that human spirits are better off without bodies, and Heaven is a disembodied realm.)

In the early centuries A.D., there were two schools of Greek thought: Stoicism and Epicureanism. The Stoics treated their bodies harshly, denying themselves even the most simple pleasures. Spirituality, to them, consisted of depriving themselves of all comfort and pleasure. In contrast, the Epicureans readily indulged their bodies, gratifying every appetite. While very different in behavior, the Stoics and Epicureans shared a common disregard for the body. The Stoics demeaned it, and therefore refused to satisfy it. The Epicureans demeaned it, and therefore felt free to abuse it in the pursuit of pleasure.

Some early Christians adopted Stoic philosophy and lifestyles. Other believers who elevated personal liberty gravitated toward Epicurean ideals and behavior. Christians on both extremes tended to view the body as vulgar and base.

C. S. Lewis spoke of Christians to whom the body was “‘a sack of dung,’ food for worms, filthy, shameful, a source of nothing but temptation to bad men and humiliation to good ones.”

Sometimes the apostle Paul is accused, even by Christians, of fostering this tragic disdain for the human body. But in Paul’s writings, “the flesh” is not synonymous with the body. Rather, the flesh is the depraved force that influences a man toward sin, prompting him to misuse the members of his body to disobey God. While Paul speaks of the flesh as the Christian’s enemy, he also speaks of the body as the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19). If the shekinah glory of God dwells within our bodies, surely they are not inherently sinful!

When the Christians of Corinth were indulging in the excesses of gluttony and immorality, Paul reminded them their bodies were “for the Lord, and the Lord for the body” (1 Corinthians 6:13). Furthermore, the bodies they were abusing would be raised up and inhabited for all eternity (6:14). Indeed, Paul devotes all of chapter 15 of the same book to the resurrection of the body, a concept held in disdain by the Greeks, who wanted only to rid themselves of their bodily prison.

Paul sees consecration as the submitting of the body to do the will of God (Romans 12:1-2). He is careful to discipline his body (1 Corinthians 9:27), but never to degrade it. He says the body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, and that the Christian can glorify God with his body (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). He even compares the holy Church of God to a human body, with Christ represented by the head (1 Corinthians 12:14-27). Properly understood, Paul was not anti-body!

“Your hands made me and formed me,” the psalmist says to his Lord (119:73). David expressed to God, “You knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made” (Psalm 139:13-14). The body is something to thank God for, not be ashamed of.

Scripture contradicts antagonism between body and spirit. God created body and spirit; both were marred by sin, and both are redeemed by Christ. Our bodies aren’t prisons. Nor are they something we can occupy or abandon at will as a hermit crab does a shell. They’re essential and God-designed aspects of our being. Our bodies weren’t created to distract from our Creator but to disclose him. Bodies and spirits can, under the Fall, sometimes work at odds with each other (hence the references to the flesh in Romans 7:14-24), but this is not their natural, God-created relationship, nor is it a permanent one.

C. S. Lewis wrote in Mere Christianity, “Christianity is almost the only one of the great religions which thoroughly approves of the body—which believes that matter is good, that God Himself once took on a human body, that some kind of body is going to be given to us even in Heaven and is going to be an essential part of our happiness, our beauty and our energy.”

Christ’s incarnation is permanent proof that the body is not sinful. The human body is compatible with deity—God was not too good to inhabit a body! Jesus’ body never made him sinful. The New Earth will be inhabited by redeemed bodies, both Christ’s and ours.

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