Reading: Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple. Revelation 7:15

Jonathan Edwards, the famous American preacher of the 1700s, once said, “We are not to suppose, when the saints have finished their course … and are got to their journey’s end, to their Father’s house, that they will have nothing to do…. The saints, when they get to heaven, rest from their labours … but the rest of heaven does not consist in idleness.” Those comments are in full agreement with the word of God. 

Heaven is not a place of endless idleness or careless inactivity. Every person in heaven will be occupied in exercises that bring glory to God. Our service in heaven will be perfect. The very best we can do on earth is tainted with sin. At best we are unprofitable servants. We fail our Saviour, and, although the spirit is willing, the flesh is often weak. Imperfection is stamped over all our efforts here, but it will not be so in glory. We will serve Christ with a perfect heart and in a perfect way. Furthermore, our service in heaven will be joyful and full of praise. There are times when service for Christ on earth involves going through dark valleys and deep troubles. The path of Christian duty is often rough and crooked. We meet with disappointments and setbacks. Service this side of heaven can be hard, but service in heaven will be happy. Moreover, our service in heaven will be profitable. Here, we are unprofitable servants. We dishonour our Master, serve with wrong motives, and fall short of our great duties: we are unprofitable. This is transformed in heaven. Before God’s throne we serve with exactness, excitement, enthusiasm, and in a way that always exalts the Lord.

Our service for Christ does not end at death; in one sense it is only beginning. When we stand before the throne of God, we will serve Him day and night. That is a glorious prospect!

“In heaven we will do God’s will as we ought, without sin, hesitation or fleshly encumbrance.” Edward Johns

Taken from A Word in Season edited by Alan Cairns, 2010. Used by permission.