“Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” (Psalm 23:6 NIV)
Yesterday we looked at the fact that for David (and those who read and sang this psalm in Israel), dwelling in “the house of the Lord” referred to returning to worship of God in the tabernacle or temple. That was “the house of the Lord” in their experience related to worship and in their instruction from the Torah, their scriptures.
Sometimes, we think about time in a linear fashion (quite to be expected, since that’s the way we experience it!) and apply that view to heaven. Who knows how time is experienced in heaven, but that’s what we do and it’s really difficult to imagine it differently.
So, we can get tripped up on the word “forever.”
Seems like kind of a long time. When we think about worshipping God forever, let’s be honest, not everyone gets excited about that. Not because we’re against worshipping God. And not because we don’t like gathering for the worship service at our church. But lots of Christians, aren’t necessarily interesting in the worship service lasting forever. (insert snide comment here :) I mean, we do have the great banquet feast to get along to at some point, right? Some of us imagine this as the potluck dinner in heaven.
Here’s the point I’m meandering around to. If worship is what happens when we are completely united to God, then worship is the natural outcome of God’s work in our lives. An important, I would even say critical, aspect of worship is gathering with a local church to worship God together in a worship service.
But perhaps that can spill over into our everyday walk with Christ too. What if knowing that God’s goodness and love is ever-present each day of our lives keeps us united to God, just like worship service is meant to enhance and express our connectedness to God.
Wouldn’t that be a great way to live each day?
Prayer: God, help me offer my life as a living sacrifice daily to you. And help me live in a way that remains intimately connected with you in every moment. Amen.
Guy M Williams 