PORTRAIT GALLERY“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.” –Hebrews 12:1
Most of us like to display family photos on a shelf or our home’s walls. But for a real “portrait gallery,” we need to go back a few hundred years to the palatial manors of aristocrats. They had entire halls lined with larger-than-life formal portraits of family members. In England in the 1700s, many such portraits came from the brushes of Sir Joshua Reynolds. He was especially skilled at making unattractive clients look good, despite the grotesque hats, bonnets, and wigs they wore for sittings. Asked how he endured painting such ugliness, he replied, “They all have light and shadow.”
There’s also “light and shadow” in the Bible’s portrait hall, located in the eleventh chapter of Hebrews. Instead of paints, sin and redemption provide the contrasts of dark and light. Abel is there for his “better sacrifice,” Enoch for pleasing God, Noah for ark-building, and Abraham for trusting God in many moves and for a miracle son. Then come the Jewish patriarchs; Moses, chosen to lead the Exodus; the prostitute Rahab, who in faith hid the Israelite spies; and various judges and kings.The list ends with unnamed people who endured homelessness and cruel methods of persecution, torture, and execution. That left many with bodies we’d consider ugly. But God saw them as beautiful. He honored them by saying “the world was not worthy of them” (Heb. 11:38).
A few verses later, these devout and persecuted believers are called a “great cloud of witnesses” surrounding us (Heb. 12:1). The next verses urge us to live for Christ with the same focus as runners in a race. Some have taken this passage to mean that the “cloud of witnesses” (deceased believers) occupy a celestial grandstand, from which they cheer those on earth still running life’s race. That interpretation prompts some people to say, “Dad’s looking down on me from Heaven,” or “I think Grandma knows that I turned out okay.” But there is no Biblical evidence that saints in Heaven see our ongoing lives on earth. We can only be sure of this: “There is more rejoicing in Heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent” (Luke 15:7). When people turn to God, that news gets through to Heaven.
Instead, the “cloud of witnesses” represents those whose faith and endurance set for us a high standard for living. We have their biographies and testimonies as inspiration to keep running the race. And we’re reminded who inspired them: “Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith” (Heb. 12:2). Jesus voluntarily put aside His original glory as God’s Son, lived simply on earth to teach people about God, and submitted to an excruciating death—all in the eternal plan of God the Father. Because of that, someday we will be able to mingle with the vast Heavenly “great cloud of witnesses.”
Who knows what famous and unknown people you’ll see in Heaven? Aristocracy will mean nothing in Heaven. Heaven is based on holiness, not wealth. If they believed in Jesus, the professor will be there by the pauper, the legless beggar by the legislator, the historical figure by the housekeeper. Earth’s methods of preserving human likeness—line drawings, grand portraits, photographs—won’t be necessary. If we didn’t know them before, we’ll get to know them in Heaven.
A local newspaper gave front-page coverage to the funeral service for a community leader and vibrant Christian who died in an auto accident. The photo with the story showed her husband standing before a large photo of her, his hands raised in praise as the mourners sang a Gospel chorus affirming her faith in Jesus Christ. “Farewell to a faithful friend,” said the headline. But the rest of the story is this: someday there will be “Hello to a faithful friend.” In time, her Christ-believing friends (including those she led to faith in Christ) will join her in the halls of Heaven. She will no longer be a memory or a photo, but eternally alive. And that’s just a start. The grand halls of Heaven won’t have portraits, but this: “thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly” plus all those “whose names are written in Heaven” (Heb. 12:22-23a). Imagine the size of it!
Even more, imagine the vibrancy in their countenances that even the best artist or photographer on earth couldn’t convey. There will be more than “light and shadow.” The joy of Heaven will dance off their faces, reflecting their thrill of roaming Heaven’s halls and of seeing God, the greatest Artist of all.
Prayer: Almighty God, I look forward to meeting the wonderful people in your Heavenly portrait gallery. Amen.
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