Worship is something that we talk about a lot in the Christian community, but unfortunately it is something most people rarely fully understand. When someone comes up to me on a Sunday morning and tells me that they loved worship that morning, I have to wonder if that person truly understands the meaning of that word. We, as finite human beings, like to put things in little boxes so they are easier for us to comprehend. But, as we can see from the Scriptures, worship does not fit neatly into a small, tightly wrapped box. In the next few months I want us to go on a journey together to uncover the true meaning of worship and how that should affect our everyday lives.
To discover the truth about this topic, I believe we first need to start with some misunderstandings we have about worship and look to the Scriptures to find the final truth. The first, and most common, untruth is that worship only happens on a Sunday morning when a musician is leading from the stage and we are all singing. This is the way I used to look at worship and, hearing from a lot of people over the years, I think this is the way many of us view worship. Unfortunately, this line of thinking makes the worship of our Creator small and confined. But our God is neither small nor confined, so how can the worship of Him be so?
There are many Scriptures, particularly in the Psalms, that talk about singing and music as a form of worship. For example, Psalm 100:1,2 says, “Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth. Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs.” And Colossians 3:16 instructs us to, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.” We are certainly called to worship our God with music, but it simply cannot stop there. Christian author Jerry Bridges says, “Worship is the specific act of ascribing to God the glory, majesty, honor, and worthiness which are His.”
Our God is all mighty, all powerful, infinite, and our worship of Him should be everything we have to offer. Romans 12:1 tells us, “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God – this is your true and proper worship.”
Reading this scripture leaves me at a loss for words. There is no wiggle room here to make worship more comfortable for our flesh. Living our lives for Christ and Christ alone is the only way we truly worship Him. Jesus paid the ultimate sacrifice for us and there is no way we can ever repay Him. But, we can spend our lives serving Him and living for Him alone.
The way we bring our lives before Him on the altar of the Lord is by worshiping Him every moment we are alive. If we confine that worship to a building or a day of the week, we cheat our Lord God. The Creator of this universe deserves our praise to be lifted to Him every second of every day. So we worship Jesus when we are grocery shopping. We worship Jesus when we are pumping gas. We worship Jesus when we are at the gym. We worship Jesus when we are brushing our teeth. Through all the monotonous moments of our lives we praise Him because He is the one who has given us breath and life! This is our true and proper worship – nothing less than everything we have to offer.
