Why worship
I’ve often wondered about the point of worship.
Who is it for? Does it draw us closer to God? Does it bend His ear toward us? Does it help us come closer toward one another?
Recently, I re-listened to a sermon series from Light Bearers on the Storyline Church Podcast. In the series, starting with the episode Is God an Egomaniac?, Ty Gibson shares an example from C.S. Lewis that’s really stuck with me. Imagine we’re a vehicle created by God. Cars, at least the ones with internal combustion engines, need the right kind of fuel to operate and function as expected.
For us, instead of needing gas, we’re fueled by something different. When God made us, he built us to be fueled by His love. If we pour Gatorade into a gas tank, the results won’t be pleasant. The engine will break down and eventually stop working. When we, as humans living in this crazy, messed-up world, try to live separated from God’s love, we begin to break down too. In the original plan of creation, we were beautifully and wonderfully made, perfectly formed by a perfect God. But sin put us on a path toward self-destruction.
When we pull away from God, we are fully allowed to make that choice. But the end result is separation from the only source of life available to us. God doesn’t force anything, though, and instead of demanding, he reaches out, always trying to reconnect. When we think about worship through the lens of refueling, the point of it shifts. It’s no longer about appeasing a divine being demanding vain praise. Instead, it’s a way to reconnect to the fuel source of our Creator.
For much of my life, I approached worship out of a sense of obligation, a requirement, seeking ways to improve my standing with God. I tried my level best to do everything right, to make the correct moves, say the right things. But it all led to misery and failed attempts to fuel my soul with the wrong ingredients.
Then something changed. It’s not that I became any better. It’s not that I suddenly started being perfect. But I caught glimpses of the Savior who created me, died for me, and calls me to come back to Him. In looking toward Jesus, I began to feel his beckoning. His pull. His invitation to come closer and to accept the fuel of His love. The more time I spend looking at this version of my Jesus, one looking for connection, and not demanding adulation, the more I fall in love with Him, and the more I choose to worship Him. This is the Jesus I love to share, to talk about, to encourage others to know.
Jesus is out there waiting for us, calling us. The Holy Spirit touches our hearts and calls us to connection, to a hope of renewed life. We each have that opportunity daily, moment by moment. It’s not the work we do, but the work God is ready to do. He loves us; and wants to pull us back from the brink.
"For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for prosperity and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope." Jeremiah 29:11 NASB.