10,000 Years

I woke up this morning with an old Christian classic, Grace Like Rain stuck in my head on repeat. And as all songs that repeat in your head, its never really the entirety of the song is it? Of course not, its just one phrase, or one verse, or if you're unfortunate, the chorus over and over and over again. Back to my story, I had one distinct verse that I couldn't shake out of my mind. The verse goes;

When we've been there ten thousand years

Bright shining as the Son

We've no less days to sing God's praise

Than when we first begun.

Instantly my heart remembered back to those earlier days when I was told what heaven was. Do you remember what I'm talking about? When your parents or your Sunday school teacher told you that you could go live with God for eternity? You got so pumped up and excited that God wanted YOU to come hang out with him. Then you started to ask questions that any kid would ask; "is there cake in heaven?", "Does Jesus like to play soccer?", or "Will I have to eat vegetables?" It wasn't until then we found out what our job description in heaven would be, we were to worship God forever.

As a kid who didn't really know who Jesus was, worship equated to singing. Singing was fun and all, but I only had a few favorites and didn't think that I would enjoy that forever and ever. The whole eternity thing seemed kinda like a bummer. A giant birthday party that everyone was invited to, but nobody really was looking forward to being at.

A handful of more years and my perspective has drastically shifted. I now can sing this song with joy and expectancy. No long do we have to sit around God and sing at him. No, we are chosen and adopted into the most beautiful family that the universe has ever seen, and our response to that love is gratitude forever. When we've been there ten thousand years we will still have reason to praise the God that made us, saved us, and loves us. When we've been there a millenia, the same will be true (that just didn't fit into the rhyme scheme of the song; there's also scripture for that).

My question for you, what is your take on eternity? Does the prospect of being in worship of God forever seem burdensome or exciting? Pray about it. Seek God. If needed, ask Him to change your heart. We have a God that is beyond our ability to describe. He is that good, that perfect, that holy. Think about it.

-matt