A good friend asked the question:
“Why do I want to be created just to worship? In the end, we’re just gonna do that endlessly sounds a bit “illogical” to me. Heaven is just that?”
Two lines of responses:
1) I get the feeling that the ‘objection’ here is to this idea of heaven being a sort of “24/7 church worship service”. That really sounds boring(!!) and anyone can be forgiven for being bemused should this be the case ‘forever and ever’.
But this is not the idea of Biblical worship. Consider a few passages:
Romans 12:1, “ Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God — this is your true and proper worship “
Acts 24:14, “I admit that I worship the God of our ancestors as a follower of the Way…”
This verse suggest that true worship is really a kind (or quality) of life lived in devotion to God. Period. It is not primarily about attending a morning or evening service, repeatedly singing hymns or participating in corporate prayer or listening to sermons and so on.
Therefore, to be ‘created to worship’ is another way of saying that God has created us to be certain kinds of creatures (full of love, power, praise, etc.)
Of course, yes, ‘worship’ does involve ritualistic performances (Matthew 2:11, 4:9, Luke 1:10, Acts 24:11 and many more) but these rituals reflect an entire life, an inner reality. But ‘worshipper of God’ does a LOT more things than simply engage in a worship ceremony.
Likewise, consider the following verses about those who worship demons or gods other than the true God:
Rev 9:20, “The rest of mankind who were not killed by these plagues still did not repent of the work of their hands; they did not stop worshiping demons, and idols of gold, silver, bronze, stone and wood — idols that cannot see or hear or walk.”
Romans 1:25, “They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator.”
Clearly, verses like this do not suggest that people spend 24/7 ‘bowing down’ and singing hymns to Satan or his fallen angels. To ‘worship’, really, is to participate in a mode of being and living which manifests the focus of our hearts.
So, to ‘worship God forever and ever’ in heaven is NOT just doing nothing but bow down and prayer 24/7. It’s really about a new kind of life which, of course, involves some ritual and ceremony.
2) Heaven is also called the paradise of God (Rev 2:7), there will be a new heavens and new earth (Rev 21) in which God’s people are called to serve (Rev 22:3).
The point is that heaven is an amazing place and service involves work i.e. people will not be spending eternity attending a church service!
Suffice to say, the God has promised His people something that “no eye has seen, no ear has heard and no mind has conceived” (1 Cor 2:9) so clearly a ‘24/7 ceremony’ simply doesn’t represent what God has planned.
