When you think of the life of the world to come, what comes to your mind?

Years ago, one of my kids expressed some anxiety about the afterlife—specifically, about the H-word. The thought of spending eternity in heaven was, well, boring. And the more I thought about it, the more I agreed. The conventional idea of a soul being whisked away to a cosmic mansion with an all-you-can-eat buffet and the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir sounds amazing… until it’s not.

In the 1960 Twilight Zone episode “A Nice Place to Visit,” a recently deceased criminal named Mr. Valentine finds himself in a world where his every wish is granted by an angel named Pip. He initially enjoys the ease and luxury, but eventually becomes bored with the lack of meaning. Frustrated, Mr. Valentine tells Pip that he doesn’t belong in heaven and wants to go to the other place. “What ever gave you the idea that you were in heaven?” asks Pip. “This is the other place.”

Thankfully, the biblical writers and the first followers of Jesus were convinced that the heaven-plus-earth-world-to-come is worth putting our hope in—to the point that they were willing to give their lives for it.

I hope you’ll join us this Sunday as we look at the last lines of the Nicene Creed through the lens of Romans 8.