A renowned mega church pastor with a congregation of over 7,000 people recently decided that there is no hell. We have denominations ordaining openly gay ministers. One of the oldest sects of Christianity recently decided that the story of creation and the garden were merely symbolic and not meant to be taken literally. Yet amidst all of this they still pretend to worship God.
Realize that pretending is what we do when our doctrine does not line up yet we raise our hands to worship. Who exactly are we worshipping? God, or the version of God we would prefer? I will be the first to admit that I do not understand everything God demands. I often have more questions than answers. But God has let me in on a little fact. Some things of God are on a need to know basis and He has assured me that I do not need to know! Isn't that faith at its essence? To want to understand something so bad but to go ahead and believe anyway and adhere it to your life?
Does our worship glorify God today or does it distract from Him? Are we performing turning in the altar for a stage? We need to ask ourselves the hard questions today. Is what we do in worship on Sunday exactly the way we would worship at home in our room, when no one is watching? Would we dress the same? Shout the same? Remember the key verse says that God is looking for worshippers but they must worship Him in Spirit and in truth. Is our Spirit right before God? Do we first worship Him with our lives and then our words? Do we raise our lives up to Him, or just our hands? Secondly, is our doctrine right before God? Have we selected portions of His Word to ignore that make us uncomfortable? Have we allowed God to create us in His image or have we recreated Him in ours? Worship is not about raising our hands but about inclining our hearts. It is not singing the loudest but living the most harmonious. It stems not from a desire to be seen but from a desire to see. Worshipping in Spirit and in Truth is not just a Bible verse; it is a road map to God.
Reverend Anthony Wade October 14, 2011
