Yes, You'll Have a Job in Heaven - But You'll Love It

Many people don’t think of heaven as a place of work as much as a place of rest; but in heaven, the two go together. I wouldn’t want to spend eternity with nothing to do, for God made us to be productive. Even in the Garden of Eden before Adam and Eve sinned, while they were still perfect people in a perfect place, God knew they needed meaningful and purposeful activity, so He placed them in the Garden to “tend and keep it” (Genesis 2:15). He also assigned Adam the job of naming all the animals (Genesis 2:19-20). He intended His humans to “have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth” (Genesis 1:28).

Adam and Eve would have been miserable, even in the first Paradise—the Garden of Eden—without meaningful work to do and purposeful labor to perform. They were made in the image of God—and God is a God of ability, activity, purpose, and power. If I thought I would have nothing to do in heaven, I’d be disturbed. I love what I do here on earth. I know there won’t be evangelists in heaven, for everyone there will be redeemed; but maybe there will be Bible teachers. Maybe I can say a few words for the Savior or serve Him in some way.

They were made in the image of God—and God is a God of ability, activity, purpose, and power.

That’s the key word—serve, along with the related words servant and service. In my studies of the book of Revelation, I’ve been struck by how often these words occur. The most glorious verse on this subject occurs in the last chapter, in Revelation 22:3: “And there shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His servants shall serve Him.” That tells us what we’ll be doing forever—serving Him!

But the idea of service pervades the book of Revelation, as you can see italicized in the following verses:

• The book of Revelation begins with these words: “The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants—things which must shortly take place. And He sent and signified it by His angel to His servant John” (Revelation 1:1).
• In commending the church at Thyatira, Jesus said, “I know your works, love, service, faith, and your patience” (Revelation 2:19).
• The martyrs of the Tribulation were given a white robe and told to rest a while longer “until both the number of their fellow servants … was completed” (Revelation 6:11).
• Revelation 7:15 says this about the martyred saints: “Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His temple. And He who sits on the throne will dwell among them.”
• Revelation 15:3 says, “They sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying: ‘Great and marvelous are Your works, Lord God Almighty! Just and true are Your ways, O King of the saints!’”
• According to Revelation 19:5, “Then a voice came from the throne, saying, ‘Praise our God, all you His servants and those who fear Him, both small and great!’”
• When the writer of Revelation, John the Apostle, was so overwhelmed by the appearance of an angel that he bowed down to worship him, the angel said, “See that you do not do that! I am your fellow servant” (Revelation 19:10). What an insight! Throughout eternity, we will be fellow servants with angels as we join with them serving God day and night.
• According to Revelation 22:6, the message of Revelation is given, “to show His servants the things which must shortly take place.”

When we get to heaven, we’ll be busy serving God alongside the angels. We will have occupations. We will have jobs. We will have responsibilities and productive work to do. Our Lord will never tell us, “Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a few things. Now take eternity off!”

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). That doesn’t sound to me like we’ll be sitting around forever trying to figure out what to do.

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For more on this topic, see chapter 5 from Dr. Jeremiah’s book, The Promise of Heaven: 31 Reasons to Get Excited About Your Eternal Home