1 Corinthians 15 - What will we look like in heaven?

“Someone may ask, 'How will the dead be raised? What kind of bodies will they have?' What a foolish question!

Paul goes on to answer those questions in 1 Corinthians 15...
“When you put a seed into the ground, it doesn’t grow into a plant unless it dies first. 37 And what you put in the ground is not the plant that will grow, but only a bare seed of wheat or whatever you are planting. 38 Then God gives it the new body he wants it to have. A different plant grows from each kind of seed. ***
42 It is the same way with the resurrection of the dead. Our earthly bodies are planted in the ground when we die, but they will be raised to live forever. 43 Our bodies are buried in brokenness, but they will be raised in glory. They are buried in weakness, but they will be raised in strength.” 1 Corinthians 15:35–38, 42–43 (New Living Translation)

I've always visualized this passage in terms of individuals, how they will be better than their best selves when they are resurrected in heaven. A corn plant surpasses a single kernel of corn. A majestic oak looks nothing like a simple acorn. It's the same plant... but so much more.

This past weekend, I was driving home from a funeral in rural Iowa. Snow barely covered the stubble of corn and bean fields, now harvested. Shreds of grass and wildflowers poked up between snow drifts. Under the gray clouds of late afternoon, everything looked pretty dead. "How fitting," I thought. 

Think again. Think of all the seeds that are in (or will be) in the ground in spring. It will not just be one corn plant or one oak seedling or one wildflower. A dead landscape is just waiting to spring to life--millions of times over.

Heaven will be like that. Field upon field of seeds, come to life. Countless people "made new," better than we can possibly imagine.

And so,
"I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope he has given to those he called—his holy people who are his rich and glorious inheritance. I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms." (Ephesians 1:18–20, NLT)