We were nearing the semester's end in Religion 1O1. My
students--most of them secular college freshman--were bright,
inquisitive, and painfully honest. I expected to hear a few
protests when we got to the Book of Revelation. Even so, a remark
from one student did catch me off guard. He was bothered by the
unceasing worship in Heaven (spoken of in Revelation 4).
"Why do they have to worship all the time?" David challenged.
"Who would want to spend eternity doing that? If God demands that
everyone worship Him forever, He must have a tremendous ego!"
Perhaps for David the most important hurdle was getting over
the mistaken notion that we would spend eternity in Heaven as
flattering sycophants around a powerful tyrant, saying tediously
again and again: "Well, God, you sure are big. Yes, you're
certainly powerful. And you've got everything figured out, too."
When I told him in class that day that I viewed Heaven quite
differently, he challenged me to explain. The class listened
intently; it was a question that intrigued them all. If there is a
Heaven, they wanted to know, what will it really be like?"
"Think back," I told him, "to the time when you first fell in
love. Do you remember what it felt like?"
His smile told me that he did.
"Do you remember how beautiful she was?"
He nodded.
"Did you ever tell her so?"
"Of course!" he said. "I couldn't stop telling her."
"Did you enjoy telling her?"
"It was a pleasure."
"Now take that pleasure, and the beauty that inspired it, and
multiply it by infinity," I said. "Take those words of loving
admiration, and multiply them by eternity. That's how beautiful
God is, how delightful it will be to praise Him, and how long
you'll want to do it. That's Heaven."
The class burst into applause, David's eyes filled with tears,
and a lump rose in my throat. He was on his way to knowing
firsthand what it means to "glorify God and enjoy Him forever."
