06/20/2026
Bored in Heaven?
Have you ever wondered why it so difficult for Christians to focus their thoughts on a biblical passage being exposited when a sermon is being preached, or a Bible class is being taught? It shouldn’t be difficult for any true believer to center his or her thoughts on God’s Word, because he or she has the Spirit of God living in them and as we read in 2 Peter 1:21, “For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.” God’s Spirit inspired what the authors of the Bible wrote down, and He convicts sinners to repent and instructs true believers in how we need to change as the Word of God is presented.
When God’s Word is rightly preached or taught, we are literally receiving information from the Creator of the universe that He has deemed important for our spiritual growth in and through His grace, and He has revealed it to us because He loves us. So, we need to pay attention to "how" we hear the Word, as we heard in a recent sermon, and we should always pray before we listen to biblical sermons and teachings, giving God the Holy Spirit access to our hearts and minds.
And we should always expect to hear from God when His Word is preached or taught. We must not have the pharisaical attitude, “I’m glad I’m not like other men,” but rather listen to what God is saying from His Word as if He is directing it to us (because He is). We grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, as we respond in obedience to what God reveals to us through the teaching and preaching of His Word and through the Psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs we sing in those special times when we gather together for worship. We must come with the desire to hear from God through the Bible, and to set aside those thoughts about less important things so that our hearts and minds are receptive to God’s Word.
If we allow the things of this life to keep us from hearing God’s Word preached and taught, we deprive ourselves of eternal wisdom that can change us and by extension our families and others close to us. As James 1:21, points out, “Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.”
Putting it bluntly, which pastors should probably do more often, if you believe that your thoughts about the attractions of this present life are as important as hearing what God wants to say to you about your eternal soul through His Word and His Holy Spirit, you are self-deceived through the wisdom of this world, or by the evil one. God wants us to know His eternal plans for us, but the world, the flesh, and the devil, are tirelessly working to keep us from hearing God through His Word preached and taught and deceiving us into believing that the temporary enticements of our earthly lives are as important as the promises of eternal life with Christ in His forever kingdom. And even though I do not know as much as I might want to know about heaven and the eternal life that I have been promised, I know that it will far better than this life.
I recently listened to a question-and-answer discussion with a panel of biblical scholars and the question was asked, “Will we be bored in heaven?” And as I heard that question, I’m sure that there are many people who think about that, even if they wouldn’t ask it. The fact is that we will not be bored in heaven because there will be no sin in heaven, and for the first time in our lives, we won’t be deceived and believe that this fallen world that, “lies in the power of the evil one,” has anything to offer that can begin to compare with eternal life in heaven with Christ. And that is why the Bible is so important and why we must make every effort to know it, believe all that it says, and live by God’s commands given to us in it. We are being lied to through our own sinful thoughts, the wisdom that comes through the sinful thoughts of others, and from the father of all lies, the devil.
So, whenever we are listening to sermons, and we allow our minds to wander to earthly things instead of the eternal truths that God presents to us through His Word, we are being deceived and literally deprived of the only ultimate truth available to us. No matter how great the temporal gain might be from the thoughts we allow to distract us, we are being cheated and by extension, those who are under our care are also being denied information that could affect their eternal souls and the souls of other people they will have contact with.
Do you pray that God will speak to your children about serving Him full time if that is His plan? During my latest medical issues, I have been reading more about prayer and one of the books I am reading is "Praying with Paul," by D.A. Carson. In this book, Carson talked about the apostle Paul’s prayer for the Thessalonians that God would make them "worthy of their calling." He mentioned the hesitancy of many parents to pray for the spiritual wellbeing of their children but instead spending far more time praying for them to get a good job, of be happy, or not stray too far, than they do praying that they may live lives worthy of what it means to be a Christian. He wrote, “Ostensibly Christian parents, rage at me because they thought I had influenced their bright children to train for ministry, perhaps for missionary service. Others are joyous over their children’s material possessions and not terribly concerned over their children’s indifference to the God who made them. How will these values appear thirty years or forty billion years from now? From eternity’s perspective, what should be the primary things for which we should pray for our children, for ourselves, for our fellow believers? When was the last time you prayed for such things? When was the last time we prayed that God might make us worthy of His calling?”
As you listen to Sunday’s sermon, please do so expecting to hear from God, setting aside worldly thoughts and praying that He will make you worthy of your calling. Seek His will for your life and for the lives of your family members and your brothers and sisters in Christ. Soli Deo gloria.
