What will heaven be like?
See also: What happens after we die? Where is heaven? Will we recognize people we love in heaven?
How you might answer: We don't know exactly what heaven will be like, but if we trust that God is good and that God loves us, then we believe that whatever comes next will be something that we enjoy. I have also always believed that God and Jesus are so concerned with our relationships with each other on earth, that those relationships have to matter when we're in heaven - we believe that we will see loved ones again! Even though we can't see heaven, but that hasn't stopped people from imagining it sometimes as a place high up in the clouds... but that's only one possibility for what it might look like. Ask your child if they have an idea of what heaven might look like, or people who they might want to see - and feel free to share your own thoughts if they need some extra prompting.
What might be behind their question: This question will typically come up when someone close to the child is facing death, whether that's a grandparent, pet, or even something that they've overheard. Death is hard thing for young children to wrap their minds around, so asking questions about the afterlife - or wondering if there is an afterlife - is all part of their processing. It is important to probe a bit to understand if they're feeling scared, anxious, or just curious - these types of questions can come up for a variety of reasons, but if a child is worried about death (whether for them or someone else) it's important to comfort them and address their specific fears as best you can.
How you might answer: We don't know exactly what heaven will be like, but if we trust that God is good and that God loves us, then we believe that whatever comes next will be something that we enjoy. I have also always believed that God and Jesus are so concerned with our relationships with each other on earth, that those relationships have to matter when we're in heaven - we believe that we will see loved ones again! Even though we can't see heaven, but that hasn't stopped people from imagining it sometimes as a place high up in the clouds... but that's only one possibility for what it might look like. Ask your child if they have an idea of what heaven might look like, or people who they might want to see - and feel free to share your own thoughts if they need some extra prompting.
What might be behind their question: This question will typically come up when someone close to the child is facing death, whether that's a grandparent, pet, or even something that they've overheard. Death is hard thing for young children to wrap their minds around, so asking questions about the afterlife - or wondering if there is an afterlife - is all part of their processing. It is important to probe a bit to understand if they're feeling scared, anxious, or just curious - these types of questions can come up for a variety of reasons, but if a child is worried about death (whether for them or someone else) it's important to comfort them and address their specific fears as best you can.