<< Do Pets Go To Heaven

What Does Heaven Look Like?
Another common argument against the notion that pets go to heaven is that "animals don't have souls." Often, a proponent of this view will not hesitate to say that there are no animals in heaven, for this reason. Again, the Bible isn't exactly clear on that, so the question is not answerable on a strictly scriptural basis.

Rather than attempt to address this directly, therefore, I'd like to raise another question: What do you believe heaven is like? If you ask this question of most people, you're likely to get a description of a glorious garden, filled with beautiful trees and radiant flowers, with sparkling waters and soft breezes. Very few people imagine heaven as some sort of giant, sterile concrete parking lot, devoid of life. We base our image of heaven on the beauties of the creation that is Earth.

Does your garden have birds singing in those heavenly trees? Do butterflies flit among the divine flowers? Just as I can't imagine a heaven without plants, neither can I imagine one without animals. (At this point, the "pro-heaven" folks will usually point out that we know, based on scripture, that there are, at the very least, several horses of various colors in heaven!) Whether animals have souls, I am convinced that there are animals in heaven. And if it is remotely possible to encounter heavenly dogs and heavenly cats amongst those heavenly flowers and trees, then perhaps it's not such a huge stretch to suppose that one of those might be your heavenly dog, or my heavenly cat.

Lessons in Love
My own personal view on this question is that, just as humans are redeemed through the love of God, pets may possibly be "redeemed" through our love. 1 Cor. 7:12-14 speaks of the sanctification of a household through an individual; while it may be stretching a point to suppose that this household might include pets, it's not a completely illogical stretch.

More to the point, I believe that God uses pets to help humans learn about love. From pets, we learn mercy, compassion, patience, and understanding -- and we also learn what it means to receive unconditional love. If pets are a means by which we are taught about love, must we assume that once we have learned the lesson, we must then be forced to lose that love forever? Shall we assume that God, the author of love, has so little compassion for us that He first gives us pets to love, and then tells us, "Yes, well, I know that you really loved that little dog or precious cat I sent your way, but rules are rules"?

This is also a handy way to address the question of whether all animals -- including that mole who's currently digging up your garden -- go to heaven. If there is any sort of "selection process," I believe that process is based on love. My love sanctifies my household; your love sanctifies yours. It doesnÕt necessarily sanctify the house next door.

This, of course, also raises the sticky counter-question: Does that mean that only those pets who have been fortunate enough to have been loved go to heaven? What about pets who suffered abuse and neglect during their lifetime? Are they "doomed" to some other, far less pleasant afterlife? There may be no good answer to this question either, except one certainty: Whether or not pets go to heaven, we can be quite certain that they do not go to Hell. Hell is reserved specifically for those who have made the wrong choice -- it is not a catch-all for those with no other destination