Family and heaven
My girlfriend’s grandma just passed away, and she is having a tough time. She is especially worried about whether or not she’ll be able to recognize her grandma in heaven. Will we be able to recognize friends and family in heaven?
Allow me to extend my sympathy to you, your girlfriend and her family. Jesus’ words provide comfort and strength at a time like this: “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die” (John 11:25-26).
The Bible does not specifically address a question like yours. Some people note that Peter knew who Moses and Elijah were at Jesus’ transfiguration, even though he had never met them before in person (Matthew 17:4; Mark 9:5; Luke 9:33). They take that to mean that we too will know who other Christians in heaven are and how we might, or might not, have interacted with them during our earthly lives. Others point to 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 where Paul comforted the Christians in Thessalonica with the assurance that they would see Christians who had died in the past and be with them together forever.
What is crystal clear from Scripture is that when Jesus returns visibly to this world on the Last Day, Christians “will be with the Lord forever” (1 Thessalonians 4:17).