As a progressive Christian, I’m often asked what I believe happens after we die. My answer is simple - but not simplistic. I don’t know exactly what comes next. But I do trust in the nature of God as love. And that trust is the foundation for how I understand the afterlife - not as a doctrine to be enforced, but as a mystery to be lived into.
When I was growing up, popular culture taught that there were only two options: heaven or hell. The good people (defined by very narrow standards) went to one, and everyone else went to the other. It was terrifying. And for a young, gay kid growing up in a culture that equated difference with damnation, the message was clear: I wasn’t welcome in heaven.
Luckily, growing up in a UCC church - even in the 1980s and long before churches were Open & Affirming - I learned to see God differently than my catholic and evangelical peers and the televangelists I saw on TV.
From Judgment to Grace
The God I know now is not a cosmic scorekeeper. The God I know is the One Jesus reveals: merciful, generous, inclusive, and deeply invested in love over law. That shift changes everything—including how I think about the afterlife.
I don’t believe in a God who would create billions of people only to condemn most of them to eternal suffering. That’s not justice. That’s not holiness. That’s cruelty disguised as theology.
Instead, I embrace the ancient Christian hope of universal reconciliation - the idea that all things, and all people, will ultimately be restored in God. This isn’t a “get out of jail free” card for bad behavior; it’s a recognition that grace is bigger than we can imagine, and that the sacred journey doesn’t end when our bodies do.
A Sacred Journey, Not a Sorting Hat
I’ve come to understand the afterlife as a continuation of the sacred journey each soul is already on. In this life, we move - imperfectly but persistently - toward love, truth, and wholeness. Why would that journey end at death?
Informed by process theology and the psychological insights of Carl Jung, I imagine the afterlife as a place of integration and healing - a place where the fragmented parts of ourselves are gently gathered up and made whole. A place where we are finally seen, known, and loved without condition.
If sin separates us, then the work of divine love must be to reconnect us. And I believe that reconnection continues beyond the grave.
The Kingdom Within
Jesus said, “The kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:21). That tells me that heaven is not just a future hope - it’s also a present reality. It’s a way of being in right relationship with God, ourselves, and one another. When we practice love, forgiveness, compassion, and justice, we catch glimpses of heaven right here on Earth.
So when people ask me what I think the afterlife is like, I often say: I don’t think it’s entirely “other.” I believe there is continuity between this life and the next. The love we cultivate here matters. The healing we offer each other here matters. The work we do now to dismantle shame, uplift the marginalized, and live authentically - that’s all part of the eternal journey.
Death Is Not the End
We live in a world that avoids talking about death. But as a future pastor and a person of faith, I’ve learned that death is not the end. It may be the end of our bodily experience, but not of our soul’s story.
I imagine crossing over not as a punishment or reward, but as a movement deeper into the heart of God. I imagine being met by love itself - by the Divine who has walked with me all along, through joy and heartbreak, through shame and grace. I imagine being reunited with those I’ve loved and lost, not in some sanitized spiritual Disneyland, but in a realm where wounds are acknowledged, truth is spoken, and love is fully known.
Why It Matters Now
You might wonder why any of this matters - especially if we can't know for sure. But here's the thing: what we believe about the afterlife shapes how we live in this life.
If we believe in a punishing God, we often become punishing people. If we think life is a test to earn heaven, we live in fear, not freedom.
But if we believe that love is the foundation of everything - even death - then we are free to live more boldly, more compassionately, and more honestly. We are free to love our neighbors and ourselves without reservation. We are free to stop hiding, striving, or pretending. We are free to be who we were created to be: beloved.
And that, I believe, is what heaven is really about.
