Relaxation

“In Heaven, we shall not rest from our work, but from our labors. There will be no toil, [or] no pain in the work.” (David Berg)

God created us to work. From the beginning, humans were designed by the God to work. Even before the fall, Adam had a job. God placed him in the garden to work and take care of it. Women were also designed to work. God created Eve to be Adam’s helper.

Before the fall, the work God gave Adam and Eve was fulfilling, invigorating, and provided a sense of purpose. Only after the introduction of sin into the world did man’s job become difficult. So, while work is good, the painful part you experience today is a result of living in a fallen world.

Heaven is a place where believers will rest from their work, but many are surprised to learn that Heaven will also be a place where you’ll work. You will have tasks to perform in this perfectly divine environment. In the Heaven, God is on His throne, and you will serve Him.

The thought of working in Heaven may be unpleasant to some (especially to those who have spent their lives hating their jobs). The work in Heaven will be unlike our familiar work in this life. The idea of Heaven being a place where you lounge on clouds, and playing harps, does not come from the Bible.

Consider these points as it relates to work in Heaven:

·       At the conclusion of everything, believers and the earth will be fully redeemed. I saw Heaven and earth new-created. Gone the first Heaven, gone the first earth, gone the sea.  I saw Holy Jerusalem, new-created, descending resplendent out of Heaven, as ready for God as a bride for her husband. (Revelation 21:1-2, the Message)

 

·       God Himself is a worker. He didn't create the world and then leave. Jesus answered his critics by saying, “Every day my Father is at work, and I will be, too!” (John 5:17, the Passion Translation)

 

·       It may even include the best of human culture and achievements, past, present, and future like the wheel, Handel’s “Messiah,” food, architecture, roads, government, and technology. The glory and grandeur of the nations will be on display there, carried to the holy city by people from every corner of the world. (Revelation 21:26, the Voice)

 

·       Many aspects of human work and worship of God will continue in Heaven. No one or nothing will labor under any curse any longer. And the throne of God and of the Lamb will sit prominently in the city. God’s servants will continually serve and worship Him. (Revelation 22:3, the Voice)

 

·       There will be no more need for professions like doctors, lawyers, counselors, or wheelchair manufacturers in Heaven (as pain, illness, and sorrow will be gone). He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death, sadness, crying, or pain. All the old ways are gone. (Revelation 21:4, Easy-to-Read Version)

Here are some facts about Heaven that may surprise you. In Heaven, we won’t …

Be bored: People sometimes say, "I'd rather be having a good time in hell than be bored in Heaven." Note the assumption is that sin is exciting and morality is boring. Believing in this assumption means you've fallen for the devil's lie.

In reality, sin robs us of fulfillment. Sin doesn't make life interesting; it makes life empty. When there's fulfillment and beauty, you see God as He truly is (an endless reservoir of fascination) boredom becomes impossible. In Heaven you'll be filled with joy and eternal pleasures.

Be emotionless: In scripture, God is said to enjoy, love, laugh, take delight and rejoice, as well as be angry, happy, jealous, and glad. To be like God means to have and express emotions. We should expect that in Heaven that emotion will exist for God's glory and our good. We might shed tears of joy. Can you imagine joy flooding your eyes as you meet Jesus, for example, and as you're reunited with loved ones?

Be strangers to those we knew on Earth: Scripture gives no indication of a memory loss causing us not to recognize family and friends. If you wouldn't know your loved ones, the comfort of an afterlife reunion would be no comfort at all, taught in In Heaven we won't stop recognizing an acquaintance in a crowd or forget people's names.

This is the word of the Lord: we who are alive in him and remain until the Lord appears will by no means have an advantage over those who have already died, for both will rise together.  For the Lord [He] will appear with the declaration of victory, the shout of an archangel, and the trumpet blast of God. He will descend from the heavenly realm and command those who are dead in Christ to rise first.  Then we who are alive will join them, transported together in clouds to have an encounter with the Lord in the air, and we will be forever joined with the Lord.  So encourage one another with these truths. ( 1 Thessalonians 4:15-18, the Passion Translation)

Be tempted: “Will people be tempted to not serve Jesus in Heaven? The answer is “no.” What would tempt us? Innocence is the absence of something (sin), while righteousness is the presence of something (God's holiness). God will never withdraw His holiness from us. Consequently, in Heaven you cannot sin.

Don’t forget the ugliness of sin. Having known death and life, no one will ever want to go back to death instead of living in life. You'll never be deceived into thinking God is withholding something good from you, or that sin is in your best interest. You'll remember sin's cost every time you see the scarred hands of Jesus. It will be stripped of its illusions as it becomes completely unappealing.

Be upset over the “unsaved” suffering in Hell: In Heaven, you'll see clearly that God revealed Himself to each person and that He gave opportunity for each person on Earth to seek and respond positively to His gift of salvation (however it can be understood). Everyone deserves hell.

No one deserves Heaven. Jesus died on the cross to offer salvation to all. God is absolutely supreme and doesn't desire any to die in their unbelief. In Heaven, you'll embrace God's holiness and justice. God will be your source of joy. Hell's awfulness will not interfere with God's greatness or our joy in Him. All of this should motivate us to share Jesus with the whole world.

Become angels: “Do children, become angels when they die?” The answer is “no.” Death is a relocation of the same person from one place to another. The place changes, but the person remains the same. The same person who becomes absent from his or her body becomes present with the Lord. We won't be angels but we'll be with them.

Know everything: God alone is omniscient. When you die, you'll see things far more clearly, and you'll know much more than you know now. In Heaven you'll be flawless, but not knowing everything isn't a flaw. It's part of being finite. Virtuous angels don't know everything, and they long to know more. They're flawless but finite. You should expect to long for greater knowledge (as angels do). You'll spend eternity gaining the greater knowledge you'll seek.

Miss our earthly lives: Have you ever bought an economy ticket for a flight, but because of overbooking, been upgraded to first class? Did you regret the upgrade? Did you spend your time wondering, “What am I missing by not being in the back of the plane?”

The upgrade from Earth to Heaven will be vastly superior to that from economy to first class. If we would miss something from our old lives, it would be available to us in Heaven. Why? Because we will experience all God intends for us. He fashions us to want precisely what He will give us so what He gives us will be exactly what we want.

 “If our daily work, done for the glory of God and the common good of others (in some way carries over to [Heaven])then our present work itself is overflowing with immeasurable value and eternal significance.” (Work Matters: Connecting Sunday Worship to Monday Work by Tom Nelson)[i]

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[i] Adapted from:

·       “9 Facts about Heaven that Will Surprise You” by Randy Alcorn

·       “What Will Work Be Like in the New Heaven and Earth? "by Russell Gehrlein

·       “Will we work / have jobs in heaven?” by GotQuestions.org