What will we be doing in Heaven?

The Most Beautiful Piece of Real Estate in all of Creation!

We know that heaven is not only the MOST BEAUTIFUL piece of Real Estate in the entire Universe, but it is also the final destination for those who place their trust in Jesus as Savior (John 3:16), and follow Him as Lord (John 10:27-29). We know that in heaven we will see God face to face (Revelation 21:3; Job 19:25-26). We know that in heaven God will wipe away every tear from our eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away (Revelation 21:4). We know that in heaven God is "making all things new" (Revelation 21:5), including a New Jerusalem (Revelation 21:10).

The Bible says the New Jerusalem will have a, "radiance like a most rare jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal. It has a great, high wall, with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and on the gates the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel were inscribed... and the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb" (Revelation 21:11-14). We know that the twelve gates are made of twelve individual pearls, and the streets are made of gold, like transparent glass (Revelation 21:21), and this city will be where Jesus reigns forever as the King of kings and LORD of lords (Revelation 21:22-23). Awesome, or what? Totally, and indescribably AWESOME! Talk about a "move-up" in life to the good-life!

We know that the Bible gives us an incredible description of what our future real-estate in heaven is going to look like, but have you ever thought about what in the world we will be doing once we get to heaven? 

"What exactly will we be doing in heaven when this life is over? Will we simply be sitting on a cloud in heaven for all eternity, bored out of our minds?" This was my belief when I was growing up in an unchurched family, not having a clue what the Bible says about eternity. Maybe this has been your understanding of what life in heaven will look like as well? If this is true, I can understand why you could quite possibly care less about getting there anytime soon! 

However, what I hope to show you in this article is a brief synopsis of what Jesus tells us we can expect in eternity, and how we should begin preparing for eternity right now while there is still time.

What did Jesus tells us about our future in Heaven?

Towards the end of Jesus' time on earth, His closest followers asked Him a similar question. In Matthew’s gospel the disciples ask Jesus, “When will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?” (Matthew 24:3). Jesus would use the next two chapters to answer their questions (Matthew 24:4-51; 25:1-46).

Jesus makes three very important points in this passage that I believe are pertinent to helping us understand what life will be like for us in eternity, and more importantly, what we should be focusing on before that times comes.

1. A kingdom has been prepared for us (25:34)

Jesus tells His disciples that when He returns and is sitting upon the throne of His glory (25:31), and He separates the sheep from the goats, He will say to the sheep, “Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world” (25:34). Jesus is telling us that in heaven we will inherit a kingdom that has been prepared for us, which is no doubt what inspired Peter to mention the incorruptible inheritance that awaits us in his letter as well (1 Peter 1:4). The Bible also tells us that, “No eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him” (1 Corinthians 2:14). What an exciting thing to meditate upon!

2. Our role in this kingdom depends upon our faithfulness to God in this life (25:14-30)

Jesus also tells His disciples that when He returns, we will have to give an account for how we have lived our lives, and how we have used our abilities and talents to serve God. To those who were faithful to serve God with their time and talents, He will say, “Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your Lord” (Matthew 25:21, 23). To the one who was unfaithful in using his talents for God, Jesus will command to, “take the talent from him, and give it to him who has ten talents” (Matthew 25:28). Jesus then proclaims, “For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away” (Matthew 25:29).

In other words, God has entrusted us with certain abilities and talents in life, and depending upon how well we use them for His purposes, will determine how much we will be entrusted with in the age to come. If we are faithful to God in this life, Jesus will make us “ruler over many things”. If we are not faithful to God in this life, we will not “rule” over anything.

3. Our role in this kingdom also depends upon our faithfulness in ministering to others on behalf of God (25:31-46)

The last thing Jesus tells His disciples about what they can expect in the age to come, is that when He returns and sits upon the throne of His glory (Matthew 25:31-33), He will also be examining how we ministered to those who are in need in this life (Matthew 25:34-40), or how we chose to ignore those in need (Matthew 25:41-46).

What is our Role in heaven, and how shall we be ruling?

As far as our “role” in heaven, and “our rule” in heaven, we must acknowledge that this is a bit of a mystery for us, as the Bible is unclear as to exactly how we will be ruling, and serving God. Scriptures simply do not spell out the specifics for us. However, we will be ruling with Him (Revelation 1:6), and the extent of our rule (or area of responsibility), will be in direct reflection to our faithfulness over what God has entrusted to us here on earth (cf. Matthew 25:14-30; 2 Corinthians 5:6-10).

In eternity, we know that we will “reign with Christ” (Revelation 20:4, 6; 22:5), as “priests of God” (Revelation 1:6; 20:6), and we will be “servants who worship Him” (Revelation 22:3) for all eternity (Daniel 7:27). For the simple fact that we will “reign” with, “worship”, and “serve” Jesus for all eternity, means that we will have a fulfilling purpose and enormous responsibility throughout all eternity. In other words, the idea of sitting on a cloud bored out of our minds for all eternity, like I had as a kid growing up, is simply a picture that is nowhere near what the reality of eternity will be like for those who follow Jesus.

What should we be focused on in this life? 

When we also consider the fact that our faithfulness in this life will be rewarded in the life to come (2 Corinthians 5:10), we must not fail to recognize the incredible opportunity we have in this life to prepare ourselves for eternity (1 Corinthians 15:58), by remaining faithful to those things God has entrusted to us (Matthew 25:21, 23). Because Jesus is clear that whoever can be faithful with small things in this life (Luke 16:10), will be entrusted with bigger things in the life to come (Matthew 25:29).

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