Praising God in Barcelona

It was a snippet of what heaven may be like. There was a group of worshipers from the Philippines standing in front of me. Behind me was a man from Nigeria chanting praises. To my right was a Christian from England. There we were, all gathered together praising God in Barcelona, Spain.

Because we were visiting Barcelona on a Sunday, my family and I decided it would be fun to find an English speaking church to attend while we were there, so via the internet, we discovered the International Church of Barcelona. The congregation is lead by John and Brandi Carrano, a married pastoral team who have been serving in Barcelona since 2010.

The love of Christ flowed through church leaders as people walked through the doors. Warmly greeted, we did not feel like strangers in a foreign land. We were among sisters and brothers in Christ.

It was interesting to see how God brought the worship team together. The guitar player is serving the church while completing his International Business degree in Barcelona. Another musician was also finishing up school and happens to have a boyfriend who serves a church in Flower Mound, where I live.

Small world isn’t it?

But here’s why this gathering reminded me of heaven. Revelation 7:9-11 gives us a picture of what heaven will look like when all believers are gathered there:

“After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. And they cried out in a loud voice: Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne,
 and to the Lamb.”

Here we were, different nations, people, many of whom spoke English as a second language, singing God’s praises, just like we’ll do one day when we meet the Lord face to face. It was a foreshadowing of a time in the not too distant future and a powerful image.

The message that day, delivered by John Carrano, was about surrendering our every day lives to God so he can do supernatural things through us. It doesn’t matter what country we’re from, what our native tongue is or where we worship. God is an equal opportunity employer. He just asks us to be willing to give whatever we have to him. As he did with the with the disciples, he can take our ordinary skills and do something extraordinary with them.

I want to be used by God, don’t you?

When the service was over, I thanked the Lord for the gathering and all the gatherings like this one in other parts of the world. I was also thankful for the reminder that we serve a big God who is active and using people to accomplish his purpose in places we don’t even know about.

It’s exciting to think one day the believers from every corner of the world will be joined together in one worship service. Barcelona, London, Paris, Bejing, Seoul, Mozambique, Rio De Janeiro, Dallas…The list goes on and on.

No doubt. It will be heavenly. (LBW)