A Preview of Heaven

As the church began to sing “All Glory be to Christ,” I was already fighting off tears of joy, of peace, of security in Christ because of singing “The Lord is a Mighty King” previously. Then, toward the end of the song, the worship leader stopped playing his guitar and the congregation sang together with all our voices as one.

It is one of the most beautiful sounds I’ve ever heard. Hearing God’s people sing in unison to the Lord is a marvelous noise. As my pastor walked behind the pulpit, he remarked on the singing by saying, “…that is a preview of Heaven.”

That is what it is: a preview of Heaven. All of God’s people, for all eternity, will sing His praise in unity, no longer stained by sin.

The question for you, Christian, is this: Are you looking forward to that? Does that preview of Heaven excite your heart? Does it thrill you to sing along with other believers?

There’s much we don’t know about Heaven on this side of glory. We don’t need to know. But I do know that many professing Christians believe in some type of ethereal experience of Heaven where we will be bodiless, floating around like ghosts playing harps. That’s certainly not what Heaven will be.

But my question remains. When you attend church and sing in unity with God’s people—and hear all the voices praising the Lord—do you long for Heaven? Are you preparing your heart for eternity of singing God’s praises?

There’s going to be much more to Heaven, but not less than praising the Lord for all eternity. It’s pretty clear in the Bible that we’ll have physical bodies in the New Earth, and eternity will look similar to life now, yet unaffected by sin, decay, and death. But we will be worshiping God with hearts unstained by sin.

Revelation describes what and how God’s people will sing: “And they sang a new song, saying, ‘Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth’” (Revelation‬ ‭5‬:‭9‬-‭10‬).

Imagine all of God’s people in Heaven singing in unison with glorified bodies to this song. How glorious will that be?

What’s the lesson, believer? The moral to this story is two-fold. One, you should cherish the moments of the congregation singing together in unity, with one voice, to God. It’s a breathtaking sound. Make it a point to attend a church where you can hear the congregation singing. Two, and most importantly, get excited for Heaven!

The joy that came to my heart, which caused tears in my eyes, was a small glimpse, a brief taste of what Heaven will be like constantly. Look forward to that, Christian! The day is coming sooner than you realize. Each day we live, we get one step closer to glory.