Jesus’ teaching that those who will be resurrected to eternal life “neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven” (Matt. 22:30) has often led to wonder (and/or panic) about what embodied existence without one of the greatest of physical pleasures humanity knows will be like. 

In the 1980s, a beer manufacturer ran a series of television commercials designed to appeal to outdoorsmen. Each featured friends in a breathtaking setting, enjoying one of their favorite pastimes like fly fishing or zipping through the Everglades on an airboat. In all of the commercials, when the fun came to an end, someone would pull out a six-pack and pass the cans around. As they were enjoying their refreshing beverage, someone would smile and say, “Guys, it doesn’t get any better than this!”

The company responsible for those commercials wanted viewers to think that their product was an essential ingredient for experiencing the pinnacle of pleasure. Each of us has some conception of a circumstance or experience about which we tell ourselves, “It doesn’t get any better than this!” It might be something we enjoy regularly or infrequently, but it could just as well be something we eagerly desire but haven’t yet been able to partake in for various reasons. The more pleasant we find it or imagine it to be, the more difficult it is to consider life without it.

Jesus’ teaching that those who will be resurrected to eternal life “neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven” (Matt. 22:30) has often led to wonder (and/or panic) about what embodied existence without one of the greatest of physical pleasures humanity knows will be like. In his book Miracles, C.S. Lewis addresses this concern and offers an analogy I think is helpful for allaying our worries.

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