“I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God …” Psalm 84:10​

Praise God that none of us who have been justified by faith alone in Christ alone will have to stand outside the doors of heaven and peek in. None of us will have to put our ear to the door and hope to hear something of the euphoria inside.

The writer to the Hebrew Christians captures this reality better than I ever could in Hebrews chapter 10. After spending the first half of the chapter revelling in the redemption that Christ has secured for us, he writes this:

Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings … (Hebrews 10:19-22a)

Jesus, through his death on the Cross, has opened the doors to God’s presence and has invited us all the way in. He is the High Priest. When He died, the curtain of the temple was slashed from top to bottom. We enter the presence of God with confidence and with full assurance through him. He is the new and living way, the better temple (Matthew 12:6).

Our song for all eternity in that heavenly temple will be “Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!” (Revelation 5:12).

In that sense, there will be no doorkeepers in heaven.

I often feel for the stewards at football games. Most of them are probably avid supporters and yet, they have to face the crowd. When a roar of celebration reverberates around the stadium, they cannot enter fully into that celebration. They might try and sneak a peek, but still, it’s not the same. There will be no stewards in heaven! And there certainly will be no stewards in heaven facing the crowd!

I would rather be inside, wouldn’t you?

Consider the Psalms, too. The heart beating within the Psalmist is a Gospel one. If he had to choose, he would rather be a steward for a day, than a sinner for a lifetime:

Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked. Psalm 84:10

The desserts that this world has to offer to us look irresistible, but often, they leave us sick to the stomach.

Jesus is better, oh a thousand times better, than all the counterfeit saviours the world has to offer.

The Hymn writer Fanny Crosby put it like this: "Take the world, but give me Jesus, Sweetest comfort of my soul."

And Charles Spurgeon once preached: “…to believers, Jesus is heaven.”

We will experience Jesus for all eternity. Praise God! But even if we only experienced him for a day, we would be fully satisfied.

I would rather have Jesus, wouldn’t you?