Does this mean that you believe we become God, or are absorbed into God, losing our individual identity?
Reminds me of a joke. A Hindu (Buddhist, New Ager, Unitarian Universalist, etc.) goes up to a NY City Hot Dog cart. The guy says "What'll ya have?"
The Hindu responds: "Can you make me one with everything?"
(rim shot)
I don't think our identities will be completely gone, but they will be radically changed. All of the bad will be gone. We will gladly serve forever at the throne, at the wedding feast. People who ask if they will be married, if their favorite dog will be there, etc. really don't understand that such things were designed to bring a shadow of God's bliss to us on earth. Marriage was the union of two souls, in Heaven all souls will be united. Any wonderful emotion you can think of will be as nothing compared to the joy we will experience there.
We certainly won't "become" God, or be absorbed into God to the loss of our personhood. We will be however, surrounded by God, enveloped by God, embraced by God.
SD
I guess that my conception of Heaven is different than yours. I agree that it will be beyond what we can comprehend. But I think we are fundamentally still "who we are" (only perfected), to the point that we will want to continue in relationship with those we loved in this life. Could you be happy in Heaven without your wife? Your daughter? If animals are in Heaven, it will be because their presence adds to our joy.
We will be however, surrounded by God, enveloped by God, embraced by God.
And we can have this relationship with God right now. This is what Jesus means when he says "the kingdom of God is at hand". We don't need to wait for Heaven to enjoy this closeness with the Father.