The concept of worship is often misunderstood. Worship is not about singing songs with raised hands on Sundays, though hopefully that is part of it. Worship is a matter of the heart. God calls us to live our entire life as an act of worship to Him. That means living in constant recognition of who God is and rejoicing in His goodness. It means reflecting His holiness through our words, actions, and decisions.

Living worshipfully requires the Holy Spirit's power. It requires a constant fight against our sinful nature.

What will the world be like without the burden of sin and with the full radiance of God? It will be a place to experience worship like we have never known before!

Life in heaven will be spent in the presence of our righteous God. We will have glorified and perfected bodies. We will no longer struggle with the sin of this world. We will be filled with a wholehearted desire to worship, whether we are singing His praises in a choir or walking the streets of gold or conversing with Old Testament prophets.

In heaven, our worship will be full and rich and unhindered—grander than we have ever experienced.

There will be endless reasons to worship in heaven, but let's examine six of them:

1. Heaven Is a Place of Ultimate Residence (John 14:1–3)

   Everybody talks about heaven—even folks who don't believe it is a literal place. They refer to a "heavenly" experience, or the place where parents tell children their pet has gone, or some undefined dimension where people go when they die. But that is not how the Bible talks about heaven. It is not an invention of fantasy writers or a figment of creative imaginations. Heaven is a literal place according to Jesus in John 14.

   Heaven is the ultimate residence for all who belong to God's forever family.

2. Heaven Is a Place of Ultimate Rejoicing (Psalm 16:11)

   Psalm 16:11 says, "In Your presence is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore." Wherever God is, there is joy. And because God is in heaven, we know it is full of joy and pleasure. In other words, heaven is going to be fun!

   If you mention heaven to someone who's not a Christian, they might say it sounds boring. Satan would love for us to believe that! Neither heaven nor its inhabitants will be boring. We will have been transformed into the image of Christ and will be perfect. It's hard to imagine how exciting it will be to live in an environment that has not been marred by sin. But that's exactly how heaven will be (and is today).

3. Heaven Is a Place of Ultimate Recognition (1 Corinthians 13:12)

   The apostle Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 13:12 that "Now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known."

   I am often asked if I believe we will know one another in heaven. My answer is always the same: "Absolutely!" After His resurrection, Jesus was recognized by His disciples. He was different in some ways, but He was still Jesus of Nazareth. When Christ appeared with Moses and Elijah at His transfiguration, the disciples recognized Moses and Elijah (Matthew 17), which suggests we will know each other in our post–resurrection bodies. How will we be able to "sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven" if we can't identify who they are? (Matthew 8:11)

4. Heaven Is a Place of Ultimate Relationships (Hebrews 12:22–23)

   In heaven we will join "an innumerable company of angels . . . the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven" (Hebrews 12:22–23). Heaven is going to be filled with millions and millions of people and angels. Since angels spoke to human beings on earth, it's probable that we will speak with them in heaven, too.

   In addition to all the people we've known in this life who we will know again, think of the ones we have known of—saints who lived in past ages and generations about whom we have only read and marveled. It will be wonderful to cultivate those relationships, but they will pale in comparison to getting to know Jesus Himself. There will be no long lines or people pushing and shoving to get next to Jesus. That kind of earthly pressure will have no place in heaven. We will all be able to meet and know our Savior without the confinements of space and time.

5. Heaven Is a Place of Ultimate Responsibility (Matthew 25:23)

   Some people imagine that we will be playing harps all day in heaven, but we will have individual responsibilities. In His parable of the talents, Jesus portrayed the master as saying, "Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord" (Matthew 25:23). Our talents will accompany us in heaven, and we will use them to serve the Lord. Revelation 22:3 says it this way: "His servants shall serve Him" in heaven.

   We will spend eternity carrying out God's kingdom purposes. Our motives and methods will be pure, and every project will be a success. There will be no compromises and no sinful agendas. There will only be work performed in wholeness of heart for the glory of God.

6. Heaven Is a Place of Ultimate Reality (2 Corinthians 5:2)

   Finally, heaven will be a place of ultimate reality—not ultimate fantasy, as some like to think.

   Romans 8:22 and 2 Corinthians 5:2 tell us that Christians and even the natural creation "groan" to be set free from the curse of sin. In our hearts we know there is something better than we are experiencing in this world. And that is because God has placed eternity in our hearts (Ecclesiastes 3:11).

   We were created in God's image. The temporary lusts of this world will not temper our eternal longings (1 John 2:17). The wickedness of this world will not taint our eternal domain (1 John 5:19; Revelation 21:27). The judgment of this world will not touch our eternal souls (2 Peter 3:7).

   Our citizenship is in heaven, Paul says (Philippians 3:20), and that is where our heart is. Heaven is the Christian's place of ultimate reality—Eden restored, if you will. We will experience the kind of sinless Paradise and perfect harmony God created "in the beginning." We will never grow tired of worshiping our risen Lord.