I just recently celebrated my 1 year anniversary. I love my wife very much and marriage is a great, great thing. We were able to get away for a couple nights and we actually celebrated the day of our anniversary at Disneyland. What I discovered was something I really wasn’t expecting.
I learned a little bit more about this thing Worship!
I have actually been contemplating this topic for months now and I am slowly, but surely, understanding the depth, weight and purpose of Worship. This started within me a couple months ago because I just felt there was something more to this word “Worship” that has pretty much been subjected to labeling one of two parts to a church gathering. You have the worship part where music is played and people participate by singing along. The second part is where some guy just gets up, and depending where you are or what kind of church you go to, spits, yells, makes you feel bad, or makes you feel good.
Back to Disneyland, as we showed up we went to California Adventure. The first ride we went on was called Soaring through California. It seemed like a cool thing to do when my wife explained it to me. Basically, you are in an airplane seat with your feet dangling as you are thrust into a, what seems like 100,000 sq ft, movie screen as you are flying around the state of California. As we were whisking around I couldn’t help but be enthralled with God’s creation. The awe of the Pacific Ocean as it crashed onto the cliffs in San Diego. The bright greenness of the grass of the golf course’s of Palm Springs. The smell of the orange groves in what I thought was Redlands. The lights and amazing structure of downtown L.A. and the Golden Gate bridge in Frisco. The peaks of the mountain ranges covered in snow so white it hurts your eyes. I couldn’t help but be enamored with the creator of all these things.
As we got off the ride, we went to lunch. Again it happened. As we sat down to eat lunch, the thought, wonder and amazement of God overwhelmed me. I had a Monte Christo Sandwich and a cup of French Onion Soup. If you don’t know what a Monte Christo is, it’s a sandwich that is made up of turkey, ham, swiss cheese, on French toast, then battered and fried. The only thing I thought was missing is a couple strips of bacon! I couldn’t get over the fact that God made each of these things. On top of that, the explosion of flavor that all these ingredients make when you put them together was cause for an eruption of worship to the God and creator of these things and the pleasure it brings.
As I was eating lunch in New Orleans Square, a Cajun Marching band came through with a nice lady leading the charge singing her heart out for anyone that wanted to stop and listen. Usually things like this catch my attention and I try to ignore them aggressively. What I couldn’t ignore was when they broke into “O When the Saints Come Marching In.” As I sat there and watched a crowd gather and kids and there parents start to sing the lyrics to that song. I couldn’t help but be reminded of God’s call for my life. To sit here and think about what I have done or what criteria God used for calling me is a mystery and I can honestly say I don’t know. What I do know is that it is not because of who I am but rather who He is. As this is going through my head and I couldn’t help but have my affections stirred toward God, His greatness and His glory!
As I am having my affections stirred I figured something out by, which I believe is, Divine Illumination. What I figured out was there is something that is broken in me and all humanity for that matter. After the fall (Gen 3) our sin, has caused us to wander from God. Even as time goes on, we create our own things that we believe are good apart from God and they gain worship, praise and glory from us (Gen 4, Romans 1:22-23). I realized that we were created for worshiping the One True, Righteous and Glorious Creator God every minute of everyday and in everything.
A great godly man said, “Missions exist because worship doesn’t!” I agree with that but I would make one slight adjustment. I don’t mean to be a neat nick here or undermine this man who I deeply admire as someone whose books and teachings have really shaped me.
“Missions exist because worship of the one true God doesn’t.”
I know this is what he means but I am clarifying it for myself.
I have figured out that “Worship” is not one part of a two part church gathering, but that I have some internal missionary work to do. I understand that I have a proclivity to suppress the truth(Romans 1) and if I am not careful my worship will be directed where it shouldn’t be. I take so much pleasure in knowing that God is the ultimate gift, through Christ on the cross, which the Holy Spirit is continually thrusting me into His presence. Giving me glimpses of what is to come when we are in the final rest and communion with God.
