Last Updated on March 20, 2018
Recently, someone gave me a small book about true worship — a little book with a big and powerful message. Worship, as defined, is showing reverence, admiration, or intense love for someone or something. I find that my greatest expression of worship is toward God and is regularly expressed at church service.
My church attendance is an important part of my life. It is rare for me to miss church on a Sunday, but if I miss, it is illness or being away that hinders me.
I have a Sunday routine; I arrive 20 minutes before the start of church service and settle into the same seat in the sanctuary. I carry my worn familiar Bible, note-taking book, and a black Bic pen. It may seem robotic, but I am just predictable.
Yet at times, I have questioned myself. Is there truth in my worship? For instance, what if someone, a visitor, sat in “my seat” at church? Would I be attentive enough to the music and sermon, or would I be distracted? Is my faith so shallow that my response and behavior actually tells a lie about my worship? Anyone watching me would say that I am engaged in worship, but I know my heart. Ouch!
A heart of faith, true faith in God, explodes in thanksgiving and praise. It is blind to ritualistic practices. True worship comes from the overflow of a spiritually cultivated encounter with God, privately nurtured during the days preceding a formal gathering. I have come away from a service wondering if truth existed in my worship. I have been guilty.
The core of that book affirms what the Bible says “…those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth” (John 4:24b). I am learning that the twins, truth and worship, must coexist if real, deep, lasting change is to affect my entire life.
There’s much change to be done.
