We had a worship service to end our year at Partners on Friday morning. We prayed, sang Christmas carols, shared the things we were thankful for in 2012, and looked ahead to 2013.
As we sat there singing that morning, I thought of the time zones around the world. As we began singing, it was about 9pm for many of you. I thought of people leaving church services, finishing a night of carols, or perhaps saying prayers with their children before bed.
It made me think of heaven: the endless worship. Revelation 4:8 tells of “the four living creatures, each of them with six wings…and day and night they never cease to say, ‘Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almight, who was and is and is to come!'”
I realize this is all curiousity and simple ponderings: but what if time zones create a mirror of this? As I sleep, you rise to worship; as you sleep, I do the same. At any given moment around the world, someone is praying, singing, or loving well. So even amidst the oppression and the far stretches of the curse, the worship never ceases. God receives the endless praise he deserves, even from a sin-infested world.
Perhaps as the collective church, we are fulfilling 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 to “be joyful always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”
Perhaps, perhaps.