Someone once told me that she did not want to go to heaven because “the only thing people do in heaven is worship God.” Whether this is a correct interpretation of statements made of the heavenly vision in the book of Revelation is not for me to decide. However, my reaction to that statement was, “What do you think worship is?” If worshiping God meant only singing songs to God, then I would have to agree with that statement. As much as I like singing, I do not want to sing all the time, every day, even if it is to God. And, I do not think God enjoys our singing so much that the Divine wants to hear it 24/7 for eternity and have us do nothing else.

However, if worship means something more than singing, something more than praising, or something more than what we do in a worship service, then I might reconsider this position. If worship was about life and love and work and pleasure and joy with God and others, then I would begin to understand why worship is a priority in the heavenly realms. If worship was about exploring the endless dimensions of who God is and then living out the reality of that dimension in a way that blows my mind and changes who I am, then sign me up! I can imagine, in the life to come God saying to me, “You want to see ‘omnipotence’? Watch this!” And then I will witness God do something so truly amazing (so much so that I would need to make up a word to describe it) that it expanded my life to a larger degree than I dreamt possible. I could do that forever and ever.

But the amazing thing is that we do not have to wait for “thy Kingdom come” to have our lives expanded by our worship of God. While the Kingdom of God will come in completion after Jesus Christ comes again, the Kingdom has, in fact, already been established. It has been invading into our world since Jesus came the first time. The Kingdom comes to people’s hearts as they surrender to “King Jesus” the rule and reign of their lives. This happens both by the larger decision of repentance and the abdication of the throne’s heart to Christ, as well as by the myriad of small decisions that happen daily which allow Jesus to be Lord over individual issues, decisions, and situations. And the greatness and wonder of God are magnified in (transformation) and around (by expectant eyes and hearts) those who engage in whole life worship of God. They become agents to extend the Kingdom as whole life worship positions them to be used by God to reveal divine mercy, grace, truth and power to others.

The Westminster Catechism states: “Man’s chief and highest end is to glorify God, and fully enjoy him forever.” We can start our “forever” enjoyment of God today, right now. Whole Life Worship is simply a way to help us get there.