last week, we began a focus on what it means to worship and where worship takes place, and we named it (very aptly, in my opinion) "Where's Your Worship?" the essential idea behind this push is that everything we do can be considered worship, and to extend that idea further, this means that we are always worshiping someone or something, whether that is God, our friends, our pastimes, or our jobs. personally, i believe that it is possible to worship God in everything we do, and that boils down to intentionality. if we are striving to bring honor and glory to our creator and savior in all aspects of our lives, how does that change the decisions we make? for instance, if i have a big business decision to make, how does that change if i'm trying to bring "adoring reverence or regard" (one dictionary definition) to my business versus to my God? maybe the decision doesn't change, but i think that all too often we make decisions that will help out the business or our career while our soul silently deals with God, saying "but if i make this decision for the company, it will be put me in a better place to be able to provide for my family, and isn't that a good and moral thing to want to do?"
the truth is, i think, that God doesn't work like that. there was probably a time in Jesus' ministry when even the religious people thought he had potential to go far and be a great teacher. however, his refusal to play their game and go against the truth, even though it might have garnered him a great career and huge number of followers who he could have influenced in a good way, ultimately cost him his life. the most important things in life, more than money or status or prestige, seem to be the things unseen: the state of our souls, our relationships, true peace. these things likewise cannot be obtained physically but by following the Way in word and action. the Way was revealed to us, and it's up to us to be intentional about following him in all we do. in this intentionality, we can begin to move towards a constant state of worshiping the only one who is really worthy of it.
a good place to start is to join a weekly worship group (called Connect Groups), where you can fellowship with fellow followers in an environment that is specifically about worshiping, whether on a bowling lane, in a coffee shop studying the bible, or at someone's home singing praise. maybe you feel like you want to get plugged in, and you've thought "wow, it would really awesome if there was a _____ group to join." well, what we're offering in the next few weeks is an opportunity for you to step up and start that group! we will help equip you and support you as you begin your own small groups. ultimately, what we want to develop is not just a place where people come observe worship taking place on sunday mornings, which would be more like an audience at a concert. we want a worshiping community, where we come together on sundays to actively participate in the act of worship as a large body, reflecting our daily/personal worship lives in a magnified way. i'll leave you with these words by Bob Kauflin from his book, Worship Matters:
A worshiping community is made up of individuals whose lives are centered around the Savior they worship together each week. A worshiping community expects to encounter God's presence not only on Sunday morning but every day. A worshiping community recognizes that passionate times of singing God's praise flow from and lead to passionate lives lived for the glory of Jesus Christ.
Good to see you online again, Dell.
ReplyDeleteI think your post centers on a concept that is critical to our spiritual lives: why we do what we do. Our lives change dramatically if they are centered in knowing God rather than simply trying to resolve some particular issue we are facing. We may be facing an important decision (i.e. your note about job choices); there may be a major life event (an accident or illness); we are feeling guilty about sin; or perhaps we are simply looking to fill a void in our lives.
Unfortunately, we get things turned around. We "do" in order to know God. We contact the pastor or go to church. Or, maybe we stop doing bad stuff and start doing good stuff and believe that, by doing so, God will be there for us. Understand that none of this is a “bad” thing. All of these things we do are an indication of the discontent in our hearts that desire something better.
What we miss, though, is that God is calling us into relationship with him. Everything else flows out of that. Our lives centered in Christ should result in a life of worship. It shows itself, as you suggest, even in the decisions we make. It’s not so much that, as the catch phrase says, we stop and ask, “What would Jesus do?” Rather, our lives/decisions become a reflection of our ongoing relationship with God, producing godly choices.
That's very true. Nothing we can do will make us more holy or more God-like. In the same way that we begin to pick up and exhibit traits of those friends and spouses we surround ourselves with, only be deepening our focus on and our relationship with God will God begin to be reflected in every aspect of our lives. Good point. Thanks!
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