Observation: John is shown a vision of martyrs. Even by the first century, Christians have already been through a "great ordeal," like the text says. They have suffered a lot of pain, heartbreak, and many have given up their lives for their faith. The angel says that these people will no longer hunger or thirst, and their tears will be wiped away. But what catches my eye most is that they "worship him day and night in his temple."
Application: Based on Revelation, I've heard it said before that Heaven is "like being in a worship service all the time." If you were to ask me when I was young, and probably my kids now, if a never-ending worship service sounds like heaven, the answer would likely be "not exactly."
No matter what your congregation's worship looks like, whether it's a tried-and-true liturgy that serves as an anchor in chaotic times, or a free, lively emotional release, whether your pastor preaches with stories, engaging Bible lessons, visual illustrations, or anything else, let's be honest: it's hard to imagine a heaven where you are stuck in that mode for all eternity. So what should we make of the idea that the saints "worship him day and night", all the time?
What I get from this is that in the life to come, the line between daily life and worship will disappear, just as the line between heaven and earth dissolves in the presence of Jesus, the Lamb of God. Even now, we worship with the hope that it will inspire our daily activities, even the boring ones, to be acts of worship. When the veil has been lifted, this will come naturally. We will always be at worship, because we will always be aware of the endless love and mercy that surrounds us and all creation, even now. Worship as we know it isn't a break from reality. It's a time to reground ourselves in God's reality, which is different from the world of illusion in which we labor now. In the life to come, we will be living in the real world, all the time, for the first time. I can't wait...but then, in a manner of speaking, we don't have to.
Prayer: God, let my life be an act of worship. Let our times of worship center our lives. Amen.
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