In Heaven, the sense of smell will also be more refined by the perfected order of life. We will have the capacity to appreciate the sweetness of ten thousand perfumes that have been distilled from each flower, filling the whole atmosphere of this beautiful Paradise. This sense will be enlarged beyond all earthly comparison, and we will develop an increasing enjoyment.
Our hearing will be perfected. It has been said, "All Heaven is an unbroken perfect harmony." Favorite music and songs that we love to listen to, birds singing that we now hear imperfectly and can only appreciate in part on Earth, will reach heights beyond our imagination in Heaven. In Paradise, because all ears are tuned with God, they are able to hear celestial music beyond the limits of the earthly ear.
Our sight will be perfected. "Lord, that I might receive my sight" was one of the appeals of the blind man. How little we see here on Earth. How blind we are to all that is around us! In Heaven, there is no impaired eyesight, no blurred or distorted vision. In God's country, our vision will be limitless in its range. Impaired eyes will be clarified to see all the loveliness and all the beauties of gloryland.
Here on Earth we often pass by thousands of flowers and we don't really see them. There are beautiful birds, animals¾all the things of nature¾and we often walk right by, seldom giving them a glance.
Even children often joyfully bounce and play around us and go unnoticed, and a hundred other beauties we are too blind to see daily pass our way. Ancient mountains of scenic beauty fail to distract our attention from the path upon which we intently have our minds and eyes fixed. Valleys with rippling hills or plains of daisies excite us very little. It seems as though the powers of darkness make us more blind day by day as we live here on Earth. But in Heaven we will comment, "Whereas I was blind, now I see." We will realize that never before have we truly seen beauty in a single lily and will recognize what the Lord meant when He said, "Consider how the lilies grow...Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these" (Luke 12:27).
In the Paradise of Heaven, every flower will be a marvel to us; each petal will be admired. Our eyes will be open to all of Eden's beauty. Not a fir, or a palm, or a moving branch will escape the notice of eyes that God has enabled to sparkle with delight at the beauty to be seen in all the works of His creation. There our eyes will never cease to behold new wonders. Praises will go out to the Lord for every beauty the Savior of mankind has prepared for those who love Him.
Our soul and spirit will be perfected and will be at complete rest. The soul never satisfied will be at peace. We will be in our heavenly home where our soul shall never hunger or wander anymore. We will know that we have entered a safe haven, resting in perfect peace and complete satisfaction, entirely happy and overflowing with ecstatic joy.
On Earth we have our periods of time¾days or hours¾or momentary flashes when our minds seem unusually clear. We have times when we are able to think clearly, but in Heaven there will be no faulty memory or confusion of thought, as no imperfection of mind ever falls upon any of God's people in the realms above. Clear thinking, right thinking, deep thinking and divine thinking are the heritage of all who dwell in Heaven.
We will also have perfect knowledge. On Earth, we "see through a glass darkly" at best. That will not be so in Heaven. There will be a wonderful expansion of knowledge and an ability to see things in their right relationships that on Earth seemed contradictory or unexplainable. Many of the truths of the Bible that puzzle us¾truths which the church on Earth divides and splits¾will be seen in proper relationship and light. On Earth, our selfish interests are so deep-seated, our preconceived ideas so entrenched, and our personal prejudice so everwhelming in our degenerated and erroneous reasoning power. In his writings the Apostle Paul, the most sincere seeker of truth seems to imply, "I see through a glass darkly. I know very little. I am picking up pebbles of truth, but every notion of undiscovered truth, what truth I do know, I am unable to fit perfectly into its proper place, in its right proportion and emphasis with all other truths."
In Heaven we shall be free from all error. We shall be filled with true knowledge to the fullest capacity and we will be gifted with perfect intuition. On Earth, the honeybee knows without being taught how to build a cell that will hold the largest possible amount of honey. This hexagonal cell is of such perfect geometric proportions that man could not improve the plan, and yet the untaught bee¾working in unison and perfect cooperation¾builds a perfect cell in the dark. This is knowledge without instruction. This is perfect cooperation with a large number of other bees to complete intricate work that puzzles the minds of men.
With this same perfection and in much the same way (perhaps in exactly the same way) God's whole family in Heaven, from lowest to highest, all work together. Each member does his or her particular work, and unseen power from the throne coordinates all the intellectual, emotional and spiritual elements within each individual so that all cooperate perfectly in one great plan.
There is a language in Heaven that all can speak and understand without being taught and there is also knowledge gained without it being consciously acquired. Like the bees in the swarm, each one of us fits into the perfect plan. Each person knows what the other thinks before he speaks. By this heavenly intuition, we will recognize and know everyone in Heaven who were friends or relatives here on Earth. Without even being told, our friends will know of our arrival in Heaven, and they will come to welcome us in the parks or in the mansions. Likewise without introduction, we shall know the patriarchs and saints in Heaven¾Abraham, Daniel, Moses, the prophets, and the apostles. We shall know as soon as we see them, and we shall see every one of them. There is in Heaven a higher knowledge than mankind now possesses, and if possessed here on Earth, it is only a fraction of heavenly knowledge.
This intuitive sense we call instinct as it is found in all natural creation, exists in humanly unexplainable terms. The homing pigeon, for example, flies to its home without error. Year after year, the robin returns at the right season to build its nest in the old apple tree. The oriole weaves its hanging nest and knows how to find its food beneath the bark, and where to raise its young in the hollow of the tree. Insects, worms, birds and beasts all know where and how to find the proper food and how to avoid an enemy. Hummingbirds work in pairs in building their minute nest. Ants and bees work in colonies or swarms in perfect cooperation, building geometrically perfect homes. They cooperate in caring for their young and in doing their own perfect bit of life without being taught, without a language or a visible way of communicating thought. They do not think, they do not reason, yet they know. This is but an imperfect illustration of God's great colony or swarm in the everlasting city of Heaven where His knowledge, working in all silent creation, will reach harmonious perfection in everything that exists there¾bird, beast and man. Every living creature in Heaven possesses this intuitive knowledge according to his capacity and position in God's economy.
In Heaven, pure love flows like a river from one individual to the next. No one in Heaven can refrain from loving others who are so beautiful and gracious. A perfect spirit pervades all of Heaven where there is no discord, not a rasping voice, not a motion out of rhythm, not an ill-spoken word and not an unkind thought.
In Heaven every one retains his earthly identify. Love, pure and undefiled, between the heavenly saints in Heaven is more beautiful and thrilling than ever was love between friend, or man and woman. This love, in itself, makes all Heaven a Paradise. This holy love knows no boundaries, and it will never grow cold. In Heaven, love in its highest and purest form is a love that will stand the test of time.
All that mars the best in man is done away with in Heaven. The veil that covers the beauty in each soul is taken away. All are pure, all are perfect. God is love and so is Heaven! There in Heaven all mankind will serve one another. There is no jealousy or even so much as an envious thought. Saints, like angels, are endowed with life from the throne. Everyone helps one another in love without envy or pride. No one will covet another's work; no one will feel his work useless.
Our heavenly homes will be situated where those people we knew and loved on Earth will surround us. We will recognize again the goodness of the Father in allowing friends of the same nationality to be located near each other in Heaven, as on Earth. Everyone will be free of any racial prejudice and pride. People will be represented from every race, tribe and tongue throughout the Earth. Though each tribe and nationality has its own characteristics, when we meet in Heaven, the love of Christ makes everyone one in heart. Though we may have differences, a common fellowship exists in Heaven making every person feel one with one another. In the Lord, the love bonds between those in Heaven are stronger than the bonds between race and tribe, brother and sister, or father or mother here on Earth.
Another great difference in Heaven from what we know on Earth is that all work will be done in the fullness and power of the Holy Spirit. Thus, the Holy Spirit filled saints in Heaven will join the angels in never-tiring, never-ending happiness, and will be enjoying their work in the heavenly kingdom of God.