Will Heaven Be Boring?
The New Testament regularly encourages us to eagerly, hope-fully, and expectantly wait for the return of Jesus Christ. When he returns, there will be final judgment and all wrongs will be righted. For those who trust in him, it will be the beginning of a life with God untainted by sin, pain, and death. God will restore all things, including our physical bodies which will be resurrected, redeemed, and fully conformed to Christ’s image. We will see his face and know him fully as he knows us. He will make a new heaven and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. Despite these lavish promises, it seems many Christians imagine that *heaven will get boring at some point.
Can Heaven Get Boring?
In heaven, some are picturing themselves endlessly singing to God. Some are picturing a beautiful but static place where there is no sin or pain, but after a while, nothing new and exciting will happen. We will essentially ‘get used’ to being in a state of perfect joy. I wonder if these erroneous (yes erroneous) ideas about heaven are purely cultural or if they also come from misinterpretations of scriptures like Revelation 4 where we see the four living creatures ‘day and night they never cease to […] give glory and honor and thanks’ to God and the twenty-four elders fall down before him .. and worship him who lives forever and ever’.
Regardless, if we are anything less than excited about heaven, it is because we have a low view of God. Heaven is heaven because of God. God IS heaven. To dwell in his presence in perfect fellowship with him IS heaven. Everything beautiful about heaven (e.g. the streets of gold) is simply a reflection of his glory. This is very important to grasp because only then can we see why heaven can never be boring.
Why Heaven Can Never Be Boring
It is as impossible for heaven to become boring as it is impossible for God to be boring.
God is infinite and His beauties are infinite.
It is impossible to reach the depths of who God is. Every ‘day’ in heaven will be a new day to discover and enjoy more of the God who redeemed us. I believe these discoveries will never end. Never-ending revelations and enjoyments of who he is.
Also, let our imaginations go wild for a moment. We do not know exactly what the new heaven and the new earth will be like but we know it will be beautiful and glorious beyond our imagination. Will there be new colors, new smells, new sounds, or new feelings that do not exist now? How delicious will food taste? Think about the wonderful spaces or planets that we will be able to explore. There is absolutely no telling the awesome things that The Awesome Creator will make for his glory and our enjoyment.
Worshipping God is not just singing. When the scriptures refer to us worshipping God for eternity, it will not be us standing in a choir singing endlessly. There are millions ways to worship God. God created each of us with unique sets of gifts, skills, and personalities. Those will not disappear in heaven. They will be perfected and glorified and we will use them to worship our God. Worship takes the form of singing, learning, dancing, writing, reading, praising, creating art, etc.
It is good to ponder these glorious things, especially when life here is hard. As Peter said: “Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” (1 Peter 1":13, ESV) . Our future in Christ is incredibly bright and exciting!
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*Heaven: For conciseness, I will use the word heaven throughout the article. By heaven I mean the state of being in the presence of God for eternity — in our glorified bodies, free from sin, pain, and death — as well as the physical new heaven and earth/new creation.
Other scripture references: Romans 8:22-23; 2 Peter 3:11-13; 1 Corinthians 13:12; 1 John 3:2; 1 Corinthians 15
