Oh worship, what a magnificent thing, but unfortunately a practice that is complicated by religious tradition and obligation. In the last blog I simplified in some ways the concept of what the church is, in other ways its' simplification left it in greater mystery than before. Worship too will fade almost until it is unattainable, while at the same time it will stand out in renewed clarity.
Worship, the very idea elicits images of people in pews singing from hymnals, the sound of voices mixed in harmony, and the utilization of words and phrases that are intended to teach the singer and hearer about who God is. Worship is not singing, although you can sing in a worshipful way, it is not the words you speak, although words will give voice to the true intent of expression. Worship is not something that God wants us to do out of obligation, nor is it something that we can just conjure up in our own will power.
Worship is merely an expression of affection of God, to God, and this can be expressed in a myriad of ways. It is simply expressing what we know, what we see, and what we feel. Worship implies relationship, in the sense that we can't have affection for someone that we do not know. Our worship is a response to how we are affected by Him, how we are changed by Him, and how we are influenced by Him!
God is not after certain words from our lips, he is not after certain actions, or postures of humility or exultation; he is after our hearts. He is after our affection, that we would love Him! Just as a married couple would struggle severely if their spouse only gave them affection in 1 way, we too dishonor what God has truly done for us by limiting our expression to Him. Or at least we reveal our inability to see Him clearly by our limited expression.
Worship is supposed to be natural, it is supposed to be full of life and honest affection! Just think of a sports fan, they don't need to work themselves into an emotional high in-order to react to their favorites teams' success or failure. They are just invested in the team and so their emotions are freely expressed in that current reality of what is taking place on the field. For the most part, we are more free in our worship of sports, music, and human achievement than we are of God. It is as if we think God wants some sort of pre-packaged proclamation, or religiously regulated interaction. Let me tell you something, He doesn't! He wants your heart cry in all its bluntness and honesty.
God wants us to catch a vision of Him, to see Him in such a way that the only reaction we can have is to jump for joy, to fall on our faces in Holy Fear, and to sing with unending praise. We, as Christians, are meant to be those who know God, who are invested in Him in such a way that when He moves or seems particularly near, our reaction to Him puts even the biggest soccer fans to shame.
Unfortunately God isn't as real to us as our beloved tangible world. You might be offended by that, but I think it is true. On the other hand, when our minds are renewed to see Him within the world rather than apart from it, our affection will brim to the point of overflowing! Breath in our lungs, eternity to look forward to, relationship to engage in, the opportunity to live and make a difference. The deeper our revelation of any of those could leave us breathless with thanksgiving!
I am not blaming anyone for our lack of expression, in some ways it is a reality of us 'seeing through a glass darkly', but there is far more to the reality of God then any of us have experienced so far. There is more available in this life then any of us have attained, and He wants to reveal Himself to us in ever increasing ways!
If our "stand up, raise your hands, turn around, sit down" worship times are an honest expression of our affection to God, than that doesn't speak highly to our revelation of Him in the moment. David danced almost naked in front of his entire city, shaming his wife and causing quite a commotion. Paul and Silas sang loudly in prison as they saw a reality that was bigger than their current circumstance.
Now before we go any further I will try to make you feel a little better. Can our hearts be expressing affection while our bodies do not? Can we be 'worshipful' even in a traditional setting? Of course we can! There are no limitations to the expression of our affection, I just don't want to box them in or limit the potential interaction with God that could bring us to even more honest and ecstatic responses to His presence!
There is a valid place to honor God intentionally even when we don't necessarily 'feel' like it. We can have an under-girding understanding of God that pushes us to proclaim His greatness even in the midst of depression or a trying circumstance. Our past experience can motivate our present expression. This is good and valid, but this isn't the focus right now. I am talking about the religious restraints we put on worship due to tradition and the fear of man; which, if we are honest, we can all see how we are affected by them in some ways.
Church leaders try to facilitate and motivate people to worship and connect with God, this is a good thing, and we all need help in this regard. We say things like 'we rejoice Lord', or 'we worship you'; but are we actually being honest here? Are we actually rejoicing or worshiping or are we just saying that we are? Again you can be worshiping in you hearts no matter what you say. You could say 'shakalaka' as an honest expression to God, and it would be meaningful to Him; just as you could say 'we rejoice Lord' and actually be rejoicing. But doesn't it strike you as a little bit backwards, a little inhuman? What if the language we use is influenced on some level by our inability to perceive God in the here and now?
Instead of saying "we proclaim your peace Lord", what if I just yelled 'Peace!' Of course I would have an understanding of Christ in me, and my delegated authority to partner with the Holy Spirit, but what if we surpassed our religious consciences and stepped into a place of expressing honestly what was happening in the moment rather than trying to facilitate a reaction that may or may not be real. If you don't want to stand then don't stand, if you don't want to raise your hands then don't; but if your affection just can't be contained then dance away, shout, and flail! Don't do it to offend people or to be weird, but just be honest with God ok!!!
Can you imagine yourself responding to God like you do at a sports game? What about how you react at the announcement of a friends engagement or a family members baby being born? Instead of a pre-meditated monologue, or a boring set of songs to sing, what if you just whooped in glee, laughed in joy, or hollered in exhilaration? What if we saw God in such a real way that our expression to Him was a testimony of how close He is to us? What if we had such an awareness of what God was doing in our midst that our greatest expression of emotion in life revolved around Him!? What if we went absolutely bonkers in love and adoration of our amazing Father who saved us, set us free, and transformed our lives? Instead of our expression often implies that what He did wasn't that great. Lets stop trying to trick ourselves.
What if we got together with a bunch of other people who were honestly expressing themselves to God in relation to their present perception, experiences, and circumstances? I think we would experience the Holy Spirit in pretty amazing ways. Unfortunately our fear of man, our insecurities, and our inability to perceive God clearly, limits our expression both individually and corporately. We end up just trying to motivate people to 'give God some sort of glory', and hope that they at least express something that is true.
I am not saying these things to make you feel bad, although i am not put-off if you want to feel bad. This is a welcome into an upward climb into His glory, an invitation to express yourself honestly no matter the situation or expected protocol. If you want to sit then sit, if you want to sing then sing, if you want to worship in the same way as a community for a while, then do that!! If you aren't as exuberant as the person next yo you, who cares! Thank God for what they are doing with them, hope they are being honest, invite Him to reveal Himself to you, and get back to expressing the affection you have for God. May we grow in our knowledge of Christ, and may our expression to Him be transformed to the same degree!
No comments:
Post a Comment