Hey brother Bowman, I got to thinking today about how we mortals desire to be identified, accepted, loved, and approved of by each other. And I think I understand where you're coming from when you say it shouldn't really matter because God meets all of those needs completely. Nevertheless, God tells us to love one another on this earth and to treat each other the way we ourselves want to be treated.
Pondering it further, I can see more clearly what Jesus meant when He said, "If you do it unto the least of these My brethren, you've done it to Me." If we look at one another, not on the outward, but as a spiritual people whom God has created for His own pleasure, holy vessels whom His Spirit dwells in, we wouldn't be so obsessed with receiving from one another. We'd be free just to be God's holy vessels that He uses to pour out His love. We would be free just knowing Christ Jesus is glorifying Himself in us and drawing all men to Him.
As for heaven, I think if we could grasp the reality that we are God's holy vessels right NOW, we'd also realize that there will be no death, as Jesus said. The Lord said we already passed from death to life though Him. Perhaps we're blind to think that heaven is another place. Maybe heaven is the reality that we have RIGHT NOW in Jesus Christ. And once these bodies are worn out, that reality of Life in Christ won't be hindered by our "looking through a dark glass", as we struggle with now.
Could it be that when God said His name was "I Am" (Omnipresent) that His Eternal Presence is ours right now?
Just wondering.........