As a disclaimer: the thoughts below are simply one person's as to where I am today and in this time. I'm simply an assistant, but on the other hand, I am proud to be an assistant...and the below include observations from "leading from a second (or third) chair".
Worship
God asks us to worship Him. As mere mortals, we struggle to understand what this could mean. We scramble to guess at what plans and tactics could possibly please this Holy One, the Creator of all.
In our limited framework, we look first to what pleases us. Do we like gifts? Words of praise? Beloved traditions? Service? Time alone with out objects of adoration? The answer, of course, is yes. As a parent, I would welcome any of the above from my child.
Perhaps it is easier to say with surety what God does not want. The scriptures teach He does not want rote or meaningless ritual. He does not want to be a party to "ticket punching" or mindless routine. Sameness and bullet points and graphs may make some of us feel more in control, but is making humnas feel safe and comfortable the point of worshipping God? If so, then who is being pleased, and whom is seeking worship from whom.
If we listen carefully, we already know the answers to God pleasing worship. Listen. The Holy Spirit screams that God wants our first fruits and our best efforts. He wants us engaged; reflecting and learning. He welcomes our questions, our doubts, and our heartfelt emotions---even if they're not all positive. The Holy Spirit begs us to use our gifts. God never said we had to be opera singers or academy award winners. He made us what we are anyway....and planned which gifts to bestow on us long before we discovered them.
And on those days when our best attempts fail in the eyes of our fellow man...He still smiles.
And smiling means He's pleased.
Worship
Let Us Adore – Anonymous
2 days ago
1 comment:
Darla, I'm so glad you have a blog!
And, although I just found your blog, now is the right time for me to have read your thoughts on worship! I have been praying and thinking on this subject for a long time. I thought that, because I didn't grow up in the church, I had missed the problem of getting mired in tradition, but I really haven't. I just have been stuck in more "modern" tradition. There was a time when I was told that spending time writing or playing secular music was wasting God's time. I asked myself what Romans 12 meant coupled with 1 Cor. 12 if we were not to use all of our gifts to worship God, but I still divided my gifts into spiritual and worldly. But that is NOT freedom in Christ. Who am I to say which of my gifts God can and cannot use to glorify Him? I can't say I'm finished with the struggle and that sometimes I don't question the time I spend doing artwork and writing,etc., but my soul is at peace when I am creating something with the gifts God has given me, the same way my soul is at peace, whether my emotions are soaring or plummeting, when I am in prayer or singing in assembly--or in my car...the only place my family allows me to sing! :) Anyway, I appreciate the freedom that Christ gives us to be who God created us to be! Who am I to interpret that for anyone else?
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