While heaven is the “where” of our hope, obtaining a new, transformed body is the “what” of our hope.  I don’t know about you, but I am glad I will not have to spend all eternity in a body that is filled with aches and pains like the one we have now.  When the Lord’s comes back to get His kingdom, those who have died in Him will be raised with an imperishable body, and those who are alive will be changed in a twinkling of an eye (1 Corinthians 15:52).  This is a real part of our hope.  Paul spoke of it more in the previous verses of 1 Corinthians 15.

1 Corinthians 15:42-44 (ESV)
⁴² So is it with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable. ⁴³ It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power. ⁴⁴ It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body.

What a great hope to have.  In heaven we will have a body like the one our glorified Savior now has.  Listen to John: 

1 John 3:2 (ESV)
² Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.

This hope should help us to endure all the trials and tribulations of life.

Romans 8:18 (ESV)
¹⁸ For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.

The glory that will be revealed to us refers to the change that will take place in our bodies, turning from something corruptible to incorruptible.  Nothing we endure in this life can even compare to glory we will experience if we remain faithful to our God.  This is the hope we all share as Christians and the message is clear—do not let any of the difficulties of life cause you to quit living for God.

There is probably more we do not know about our future bodies than we do know.  Unfortunately, the Bible does not tell us a lot about them.  However, we do know that they will be fit for heaven.  In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul compares the nature of our future bodies to the various bodies that God has created.  The sun, moon, and stars all have different bodies so far as glory is concerned.  Such is the case with fleshly bodies as well.  For example, humans and animals have different kinds of bodies.  Their flesh is different.  Furthermore, the flesh of dogs is different from the flesh of fish.  Why the different kinds of bodies?  We are all given a body that is fit for its environment.  Such is the case with all earthly bodies and heavenly bodies, and such will be the case with our future bodies.  Whatever their exact nature will be, they will be fit for heaven. (1 Corinthians 15:35-49).

A few things are clear from the teaching of Paul regarding our future bodies.  First, while they will be very different from our present bodies in nature, they will be the same bodies.  God is not going to create for us a completely different body; He is going to change the ones we have from corruptible to incorruptible (1 Corinthians 15:52-53).

Second, since our present bodies are the ones that are going to be changed, they are important in God’s scheme of things.  This is the argument that Paul made for not committing fornication or using our bodies in any way as an instrument of unrighteousness (Romans 6:12-13; 1 Corinthians 6:12-20).

I am glad that in heaven we will have new, glorified bodies—bodies that will never break down or wear out.  We are going to be in heaven for a very long time and we are going to need bodies that will last.  Thank God He has it all worked out.

As you wind down for the night, think about these things.