I lost a family member a while back and I talked to them a few days before they died. He had Cancer but I really thought he would pull through. I did not think that he would go as quickly as he did. He went into the hospital for what I thought was a simple procedure and ended up dying. I did not get to tell him that I loved him. My family is not that close we are not the type that just say stuff like that. But I feel really bad that I never got a chance to tell him just how much I loved and cared about him. I have always thought that if we get to heaven that we would be reunited with friends and family so I gained some peace through thinking that I would see him again one day in heaven. I was talking to this guy the other day and he told me that he was always taught that you will not recognize friends and family--that part of the happiness of heaven is not remembering the troubles of the earth. In heaven we will just relate to everyone as brothers and sisters in Christ. So basically you forget everything of the world. I just keep thinking about it and it bothers me to think that I wont know my family..... What are your thoughts?
God created us, and we have value as individual beings. There will never be another *you* and there will never be another *me.* And God designs it that way.
We do not lose who we are when we go to Heaven, in fact, we become the BEST versions of ourselves because we have been sanctified through Christ. While I agree that we won't remember pain or unhappiness from earth, we will most certainly remember who we are and recognize others in Heaven.
This is part of the Communion of Saints. All of God's servants, both in Heaven and on earth, are in communion with each other through Christ--we are the Church. It is said that the church members on earth are the "Church Militant," because we still take up the Cross and fight against Satan and the forces of evil (and goodness, if you've seen that Planned Parenthood thread and that other one about that Satanic statue being set up in Detroit, then we have got our work cut out for us). The Church in Heaven is called the "Church Triumphant," because the saints in Heaven have overcome the trials and tribulations of earth.
Since the earliest times, Christians have petitioned the Heavenly saints by name "Saint John, pray for us..." "Saint Teresa, pray for us..." because even in Heaven, they still have their names and respond to them.
Your family member will recognize you. You will recognize him.
But most importantly, the purpose of this life is to love God and serve Him, and to be happy with Him for eternity in Heaven. Thus, your PRIMARY joy and happiness will be in seeing God face-to-face, and living in communion with Him forever. Your secondary joys will be seeing your loved ones, seeing the holy angels and the saints, and your own personal holiness in Christ because He has sanctified you.