In our last study, John revealed to us that the city of
heaven, the bride of Christ in which we will live in a level of intimacy with
our God that is today akin to marriage – is 1500 miles wide, long, and
tall. That is a city bigger than any
that has ever occupied our planet. It is
larger than most countries. No matter if
from a distance it resembles a cube with buildings of equal height, or a
pyramid with the throne of God at its center, and every other structure
descending in height until you reach the walls around the city, the population
this city is capable of holding is well beyond our comprehension. At a minimum, we will reside there
forever. But heaven may be bigger than
just a “human” home, as two thirds of the angels may well reside there with
us. Where else would they live? In addition to our angelic neighbors, heaven
may well be filled with animals, birds, even bugs perhaps, as all living
creations long to be near their creator.
Heaven may well be filled with plant life. The city may look less like a “concrete
jungle” than we might at first imagine.
Just because it has streets of nearly translucent gold, does not also
mean that beside them is grass of softest texture and hue.
But in addition to what is reasonably possible for us to
imagine heaven will be like, there may also be other residents there that were
sentient creations of our God before we came to life. The 4 “beasts” John saw before the throne of
God may well represent other sentient life forms that pre-date our creation and
may also occupy residence in the city which has been prepared by Christ for our
new home. But no matter what kind of
“life” does live there, no matter whether we occupy homes that are 1500 miles
above ground, or perhaps in a basement who knows how many floors below it, the
entirety of the city is filled with the light of God, with His presence. The goal of having a city like this is
literally for us to live with our God, to be with Him. God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit
reside here. This was their home before
it will be ours. This was where they
were located, before there was an Eden created in our world. Perhaps Eden will now reside there like
heaven’s version of Central Park in NYC (minus the crime and decay).
Companionship is the central theme. We are not alone. Nor will we ever be alone. Even in a crowd of people numbering in the
billions, each and every one of us will directly and uniquely experience the
nearness with our God. Loneliness of any
kind will become extinct. All of mankind
is related to each other as in some way as we all trace our roots back to Adam
and Eve. I wonder if this is the scale
God thinks about when He proclaimed be fruitful and multiply. It is in the context of this level of scale,
we are forced to re-examine how we think about “worship”. John offers us a simple text in his book of
Revelations about Jesus Christ in chapter 21 and verse 22 saying … “And I saw
no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of
it.”
What is missing from the city of heaven is any sort of
temple or church. There are ZERO
buildings dedicated to the assembly of people intent on “worshipping” our
God. Think about that statement as this
is not by accident, and is a condition that will be permanently the case in our
future home – there are ZERO buildings set aside for the purpose of
“worshipping” our God. In our world
today, Catholic Cathedrals are some of the most beautiful structures that have
survived the decay of the ages. They are
artistic and ornate and inspire mankind to elevate his thinking towards the
divine. But none exist in heaven. Neither are there Mormon Temples, or simple
white-steeple Protestant churches, or Asian shrines of any kind. There are no place where candles are burned,
incense is offered, or alters or pulpits constructed. This does NOT mean worship is no longer a
part of heaven. How could we avoid
worshipping the God who has done so much for us? NOR does it mean, we no longer assemble
ourselves together, as the whole point of having a city home, is to be in close
proximity with each other and with God.
And this is more than a practical acknowledgement that to
build a single building designed for worship might take a construction equal to
the size of heaven itself in order to fit us all in it. This is not about practical architectural
constructs. This is not about
limitations. This is not about
accommodating the laws of physics. This
declaration is by intent. John offers
the reason for the noticeably absent structures in the same verse … “for the
Lord God Almighty, and the Lamb are the temple of it.” Worship has NEVER been about buildings, it
has been about WHO we worship. How we
love matters. Who we love matters. It is our love for God that underpins our
desire to worship Him at all. Our
gratitude must find expression. But real
worship is more than simply saying “thank you”.
I venture a guess, that if Bill Gates gave you 10 billion dollars, you
might not limit your expression of gratitude to a single one time verbal
offering of just “thank you”. Likely you
would feel the need, the desire, to “do something” nice to show him your
gratitude. How much more it is for our
God, who has given us everything. To say
“thank you” will never be enough. We
will be compelled of our own desire to “do something”. We will want MORE than words, more than
music, more than sitting around listening to someone else teach scripture. We will want to LIVE our praise, LIVE our
worship, LIVE our gratitude.
The beauty of heaven is that no matter where we are, God is
right there with us, visibly. His light
illuminates our city such that there is no dark corner in it. Our planetary sun will reflect light from
God, originating here on our earth, instead of the other way around. So to worship God, there will be no need of a
temple, as He will be ever present. This
does not mean that all the residents of heaven will never get together all at
once, at one location. However it does
mean, we need no building dedicated as a temple to do it in. Every building offers us that same level of
ability. We can worship God in every
structure from the library, to the central park, to the farthest outpost in the
most seemingly unlikely place. Buildings
do NOT define, or constrain our worship.
They never have. They never
should. Buildings are only a practical
construct that allows us to assemble for a specific purpose. WORSHIP is something that can and should
happen everywhere regardless of the building around us at the time; just like
it will be in heaven.
One of the chief “false measurements” of our faith here on
earth is whether or not we … “go to church”.
This implies that faith is found and enriched by a building dedicated to
that purpose. But it is not. “We” who choose to follow Christ, are His
church, no matter where we are. When we
gather together, when we bring other parts of the body, with different
perspectives of our Lord, into the same location, we are effectively creating a
temple. When we get beyond the need to
say a simple “thank you” and find ourselves driven to “do something” – sitting
in a building dressed in fineries will just not get it done. Listening to a sermon, while awesome, is
simply not enough. We will want more. We will need more. We will desire to “do” more. Our faith cannot be content in only a
listening posture, it needs exercise.
Let’s take church (which is us) outside of our temples and cathedrals,
and to others who need our love … you know … like how it is done in heaven.
Our biggest problem with how we worship, is that we continue
to keep it self-centric. “Worship” music
has become a phenomenon in Christian churches.
It makes us “feel’ closer to God when we sing it. It gives us the warm fuzzy of “being” with
God. But touching hearts CANNOT be
constrained to only the lyrics and melodies we recite ad nauseam in our
sanctuaries. It MUST be experienced in
the street to be real. Our families need
our love in a practical sense. Our
co-workers need our love in a very real sense.
Our communities need our compassion in a real sense. There are real needs everywhere around us,
and we would only offer God our songs, but not our hearts. We would offer God our time once a week for 3
hours, in a particular building where we have a particular role (most often
sedate, and in listening posture). But
upon “going home from church”, our “worship” ends. That is not worship, it is ritual. For most of us, the lyrics in the song’s we
sing to honor God, bare a testimony we have never had in our hearts, for
ourselves, but this need not be the case.
Worship happens at home.
Worship happens at work. Worship
happens at entertainment venues. Worship
happens when we choose to love others and in so doing offer back to God a “do
something” expression of our gratitude instead of a “talk about it”
offering. In heaven worship is something
that can occur 24x7 in every building there.
So it should be here on earth.
Seventh Day Adventists like to make a huge distinction by only choosing
to “worship God” on the day He created for it.
But ONLY on that day. And most
often, ONLY for 3 hours in the local church.
THEN we go home, we go back to our lives, and we do not think much about
worship until the next Sabbath arrives.
Instead of the Sabbath being the pinnacle of our worship, instead of it
being the height of our worship, it is the only 3 hours we spend in
worship. The rest of the week is
“ours”. Heaven forbid we find ourselves
in a cathedral on Sundays, or in any other structure dedicated to “worshipping”
God on Sunday, or a Mosque on Fridays.
For an Adventist, this is a sin.
The symbolism of false worship is a problem. But is that symbolism really constrained to
being in the “wrong” place on the “wrong” day … or is it because we are holding
the “wrong” ideas in our hearts even when done in the “right” place on the
“right” day?
“Worshipping” God only on Sunday, is as limited and short
sighted as only doing it on Friday, or only on Saturday. Our God is not a weekend-warrior nor should
we His servants be. Worship should be
happening constantly. Not the proscribed
formats that have become our weekend rituals, but the free flow expression of
love for others that can actually change the world around us for the
better. A real “do something” form of
worship that makes a tangible difference in the life of someone other than
you. Do that, and then sing about
it. Do that, and then share about
it. Do, and find, that in doing, there
is real worship. So long have we decried
our youth for not “attending” church anymore.
Perhaps we should go to our youth and have them join us in church, right
where they are. Let us show them the
beauty of “doing something”. Our
churches, and our Sabbaths, should be the pinnacle of our assembly and desire
to share our experiences of worship that have occurred every other day of the
week (yes including Sunday). God is not
dishonored by our worship and expression of love to others on any day … He is
most often dishonored because of our refusal to do so, unless and until it is
convenient for us.
True worship is not about making us feel better, or warm and
fuzzy. It is about a desire to give back
to God the offering of gratitude that simply cannot be constrained. When we “do something” about how we love our
God, we get dirty. Sometimes loving
others means taking action that makes us sweat, in heated environments that are
not air conditioned. Sometimes working
tirelessly for someone else is not too glamorous. In fact, it is often quite humiliating. It requires patience. It requires long suffering. It requires dedication. It is rarely appreciated. But it is NOT work … it is reward … it is
gratitude expressed … it is worship, the real kind. Whether we help change a tire for a stranded
motorist we have never met, or cut the lawn for a neighbor who we know lacks
the strength to do so; when we perform random acts of kindness for others, we
most often find it is hard to do so wearing our best clothing. Simple clothing designed to serve is more
appropriate for random acts of kindness.
A suit is too constraining for a worshipper bent on “doing something”
about how they feel towards God.
I am not advocating the abandonment of “church”. Instead I want to redefine it. Instead I want to expand what it means to
worship. I want to break the
self-imposed limitations of our rituals we call church, and replace them with
something more, something real. You do
not need a pastor and a support system of like-minded believers to reimagine
worship between you and God. You can
begin worshipping God right where we you are, and right where you work. In so doing, you will be worshipping in the
model heaven intends for all time. Take
up your random acts of kindness and love and recall the results in the place
you call church. Do not limit your worship
to 3 hours on a particular day, but instead let that 3 hours become the pinnacle
of worship you have accumulated on every other hour of the week ahead. Most of all, break the cycle of associating a
building for a specific purpose as being “church”. “You” are His church. “You” represent Him to the world around
you. “You” are a part of His body, not
the whole of it. You will need the
perspective of other body parts so that you do not come to believe you know
everything there is to know. Gather as many
parts of the body as you can find, and join together in your efforts to make a
real difference in the world around you.
In so doing, you provide better service to others. You can lean on each other’s strengths, cover
each other’s weaknesses, and learn about Him in humble service with each other -
meant for others.
The Revelation of heaven given to John causes us to rethink
what worship is, and how we do it, where we do it, and when we do it. Having a special day of God’s creation upon
which to enjoy special time with Him, was not meant to replace all other times
as being for “ourselves”. A special
time, is exactly that, a special time – not the ONLY time. In heaven God will be with us all the
time. The one day in seven when that is
something special is like the icing on the cake, not a replacement for the
cake. One day in seven things will be
even more extreme, more beautiful, closer still if that is possible. It does not mean that a 3 hour window in
sedate posture accomplishes the goal keeping a day holy. It means we will long for the next full 24
hour window when that level of “special” arrives. It is the difference between “talk about it”
religion and “do something about it” religion.
Most of us eat two or three times a day, but we ALL still appreciate a
“special meal”. Our worship should
emulate the same thinking. We can
express our love to God by serving others all the time, and find a special
blessing on the day He intended to free us from all our other concerns.
If there is no need for a temple in heaven for all of
eternity … why have we created a need for them here upon our earth? If our buildings serve as headquarters for an
action oriented approach to worship, if they serve as places to coordinate and
organize our service for others, then they are well suited for the purpose of
worship. If however, our buildings serve
only our “need” for ease and opulence, and as a place in which we can
demonstrate our wealth in cars, clothes, jewelry, and accessories to the
neighbors who sit next to us in the pews, and for whom we care barely muster a
care … our buildings have lulled us into a false worship that no holy day can
ever correct. Buildings should be tools
in His service. They should serve a
function that makes a difference in the lives of others. They should not be thought of as the ONLY
places where worship, or church can occur.
Heaven finds no such limitations in it.
Why should we impose such limitations on ourselves in this world?
A heart that has been transformed by the love of God, who
reflects that love and passion for others, is simply not content to sit for 3
hours a week, and be done. A transformed
heart craves more. It is
insatiable. It has a hunger to do more,
to experience more. It cannot be bound
or constrained by a building. For those
who have a transformed heart, there is too much opportunity to sit still. There is too much love that is needed, to
hold any back. There is too much pain
around us to focus only on our own needs, failures, pains, and desires. The transformed heart yearns to provide
relief to others, not to itself. The
transformed heart will never be content to remain still while a single need
goes unfulfilled in the life of someone within their reach. The love of God is such. The life of Christ on the earth was as
such. It remains so even today. As we are transformed by the power of the
love of Christ, we begin to reflect that love, and that passion, and it causes
us to reimagine what worship is, and how, and when we do it.
And the insight into heaven was not over yet …