Serving In Heaven

They are before the throne of God and serve him day and night in his temple.

Revelation 7:15

The Father’s house will be a happy home because there will be work to do there. Certainly this is true in every well-ordered home on earth. Some people are so overworked that their greatest longing is for rest. The Bible verse that most appeals to them is, “There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God” (Hebrews 4:9).

But the time will come when they will be rested and will become weary of doing nothing. I can think of no more terrible fate than to be condemned to sit forever and ever in idleness.

John wrote in Revelation 22:3, “His servants shall serve him.” Each one will be given exactly the task that suits his powers, his tastes, and his abilities. Perhaps God will give us new worlds to conquer. Perhaps He will send us to explore some distant planet or star, there to preach His message of everlasting love. Whatever we do, the Bible says we will serve Him.

And the Father’s house will be a happy home because friends will be there. Have you ever been to a strange place and had the joy of seeing a familiar face? Not one of us who enters the Father’s house will feel lonely or strange, for our friends will be there.

Alexander MacLaren described heaven in this way: “The joys of heaven are not the joys of passive contemplation, of dreamy remembrance, of perfect repose; but they are described thus, ‘They rest not night or day,’ and ‘His servants serve him and see his face.’”

Our Father and our God, I look forward to serving You endlessly in heaven. And I thrill at the thought of seeing Your glorious face. I know I will never tire of being in Your presence or working night and day for You, because You are the source of all energy and joy. In the mighty name of Jesus. Amen.

Billy Graham, Unto the Hills: A Daily Devotional (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2010).