Many religions speak of an afterlife and, in particular, of heaven.

An eternity in another realm … that’s an important concept, and one that is a comfort to many people.

It is interesting, however, how divergent the views are on heaven, even within Christianity.

It is generally described as a place of eternal happiness and bliss, living with God and other believers.

The other day, however, I had a thought about heaven that I do not recall seeing discussed.

In heaven, will you notice who is not there?

This assumes that humans who find themselves in heaven, in the presence of God, are interested in anything that happened back in the temporal world.

But if we assume our knowledge of the cosmos becomes complete, once in heaven, wouldn’t that knowledge include a recognition of the people around you?

And after happily greeting people you knew, in your earthly life (“Wow, heaven is cool!”) does there come a point where you begin to notice who isn’t there? (And might you feel guilt for perhaps not doing more in helping that person get to the pearly gates?

In most religions, not everyone gets into heaven. That certainly is the case is Christianity and Islam.

I guess “disappointment” is not consistent with being in heaven, but how will you feel when you realize who isn’t there?

What happens when you don’t see the guy who told funny jokes or the relative who was always kind to you?

Perhaps you will have an understanding of why they are not there. And perhaps you will recognize why they had to end up in hell — since Islam and Christianity, at least, seem to believe that is the option to heaven.

The thing being … I think a lot of us assume most everyone we know will be in heaven, with us.

Unless we live in a monastery, that seems very unlikely.