Worship

 What is the point of worshipping God? We show reverence and admiration for Jesus. He said that the day would come when we would worship in spirit and in truth. Singing praise is one dimension - when we declare His attributes aloud. The written words of the songs are complemented in our freestyle worship. We speak or sing of His nature and character and His works in unscripted declarations as the Holy Spirit gives them to us.

Jesus’ works are manifest in so many ways that they seem inexhaustible. He created the heavens and the earth, and all that is in them. The beauty and intricacy of nature are beyond awe-inspiring. His hand in history is recorded both in the Bible and man’s written history. But equally important, His work in our individual lives shapes us into what He is calling us to become. Through teachings of the church, through fellowship and discipleship, and through chastening, the events of life, Jesus forms us into His image.

We have glimpses of Jesus’ nature and character, although obviously not the transcendent dimensions. He is perfectly holy - meaning that He is undividedly devoted to moral purity, doing what is right, and separated from evil and sin, even from sins of omission. By His very nature, He loves, and shows love to all who will receive Him. He loves those who reject Him too, but cannot show His love in any way other than trying to win them to Himself, and He will allow sin to reap its harvest in their lives in hope they will turn to Him.  He will not participate in evil. We have difficulty understanding how to choose or reconcile bad things happening to good people and God seemingly allowing it, but that is where His transcendence is paramount.

Jesus’ love desires and works for the best long-term interests and outcome of others. It manifests as being patient and kind. not envying, not boasting, not being proud. It does not dishonor others, is not self-seeking, is not easily angered, keeps no record of wrongs, does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth, always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Because of all these (above) Jesus is worthy of our worship. His glory is revealed. He has high renown and honor won by both His works and His magnificence. C. S. Lewis wrote an essay called the weight of glory, based on 2 Corinthians 4:17, that our current lives are should be focused on the unseen, eternal promises of God, and the weight we sense when He is present with us.

The point of worshipping God is not just that He is worthy to be publicly acknowledged for His nature and character, His works, and His goodness to us. It is to join together in public agreement, in detail, about His essential attributes, and to focus our own minds and hearts on these things. His holiness can be imparted to us, His love can flow through us to others. If we sense His in singing about Him in reverence and awe, we are closer to that eternal outcome, of becoming like Him.

We can sing and we can testify, but beyond that, we should devote our lives totally to Him. He gives us stewardship over His resources that He has given us: our time, our abilities, the money we have, our families, our energy. Worship also includes doing what He asks us to, as faithful stewards. Some He calls to travel to foreign lands as missionaries and evangelists. Some He asks to work building His kingdom locally. He asks all to be generous with their finances, while being faithful stewards. Generosity does not mean enabling others’ sinful or irresponsible behaviors, but helping those truly in need. Worshipful actions by us encourage others to similarly worship Jesus through their lives.