Shortly after I posted on the question of heritage, I was reading NT Wright's "The Resurrection of the Son of God." His historical coverage of the idea of resurrection helped me immensely. Early in the Hebrew monarchy (and right before), people didn't have a strong idea of individual bodily resurrection. That came more in the Maccabean period and later. The primary idea of resurrection early on was a corporate or national focus. "If we go into exile, God will be faithful to resurrect us" was more the idea. Therefore, the idea of heritage was of paramount importance. Each individual (who definitely didn't conceive of themselves as such) wanted to participate in the age to come by having their seed present through their progeny.
As a product of individualism who is reforming my thinking around resurrection, I don't have a strong drive to bear offspring. I want to love and serve those who have present life around me in order to participate together as individuals in community in the age to come.
I'm actually pretty excited about the idea of having children, but as noted, I don't have a huge drive, given my hope for the future.
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