Worship.

** Work in progress **

"I can't believe in a God who wants to be worshipped."

How do you show people that you love them? What do you do to show them? A friend is struggling with the fact that God desires our worship. To this I am realizing that many people don't truly know what worship is. Let's look at what Webster has to say.

1wor·ship noun 1 chiefly British: a person of importance -- used as a title for various officials (as magistrates and some mayors) 2 : reverence offered a divine being or supernatural power; also : an act of expressing such reverence 3 : a form of religious practice with its creed and ritual4 : extravagant respect or admiration for or devotion to an object of esteem

Christians have been 'worshipping' God for so long that the word's meaning has evolved to include a religious definition. I am not going to discuss the first definition because that definition does not pertain to what I am attempting to illustrate. It is the other definitions that in working together form the true meaning of what worship is. We are offering reverence to God, expressing reverence. If we look up what it means to hold something in reverence, we find that it is a form of respect. Is there something wrong with desiring respect? What person on Earth does not want to be respected? I can believe in a God who not only wants respect but also deserves it.

rev·er·ence noun 1 : honor or respect felt or shown : DEFERENCE; especially : profound adoring awed respect 2 : a gesture of respect (as a bow) 3 : the state of being revered

Worship is a word that has come to 'explain' to people what it is that religious people do. It is a word that has come to mean many different things, but the root of the word the bottom line meaning can be found in the definition of the verb worship.

2worship verb transitive senses 1: to honor or reverence as a divine being or supernatural power 2: to regard with great or extravagant respect, honor, or devotion
intransitive senses: to perform or take part in worship or an act of worship

A man could say to a woman in a true devoted love relationship "I adore you. I respect you. I honor you. I am devoted to you." These are acts of love. They are also forms of worship. We have taken the connotation of the word and given it only the 'religious' definition. It is time for others to start stepping out of the 'religious' rules and regulations and see Christianity for what it truly is supposed to be, a relationship with God. The world we live in has gone so far past what true Christianity is by defining it.

What does worship mean to me? Taking out what Webster thinks and feels about it. Worship is the way I show God how much I love him. I worship God in my actions. I worship him in my speech. I worship God…I respect him. I adore him. I am devoted to him. Do I worship God? Daily! I sing songs that worship Him. The point of those songs, to tell him I love him. I pray as I worship…to tell him I love him.

So now about believing in someone who desires to be worshipped. I have many times in my life 'fallen in love'. And this illustration is one that I find is quite close to what my faith is. To love someone so completely is the closest thing to heaven we can find on Earth. We were made in God's image. We were created in his likeness. Our spirits crave the oneness we find in loving relationships. That is also what God offers us. The closest thing on Earth to understanding faith in God is to speak of a love relationship. Were I to be in love with someone who did not love me back, I would desire greatly for that person to love me.

We know what it feels like to love, wholly and completely, and not have that love returned. People feel and experience this pain. There is a deep internal struggle. Then a day comes when we are often given a choice. "I know you love me…" the words are spoken…and if "and I love you" doesn't come next our hearts are ripped out of our chests. This is the same as it is with God. He loves us so completely that he stepped out and said, "I love you" to the people of the world. Now it is our choice to say 'I love you too' or to reject that love. What is worship to me? It is a conversation with God. It sounds like this "Lord, I know you love me. And you know I love you. But knowing is not enough. Let me show you!"

What woman would not want to hear these words? "I know you love me. You know I love you. Now I am going to show you what that means." It's in the showing. That is the heart of worship.

I'm coming back to the heart of worship… and the heart of worship is a conversation, from your heart to God's.