Yes….I did just say that. And I will say it again: Worship isn’t made for church. But before you refer to me as a heretic, let me explain myself. Webster defines worship as, “reverence offered a divine being or supernatural power” and, “extravagant respect or admiration for or devotion to an object of esteem.” In modern culture, people often times refer to our ritualistic nature of praising God before a sermon or lecture as worship. While this can be a form of worship (referring to praising God by music and lyric) this is not by any means the only way to worship God, nor the true verbiage of the word. Worship goes so much deeper than culture allows it so.
Jesus tells His disciples in the Gospel of Matthew to, “love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.” And loving God is the greatest command out of any given to man. See, to me, this instruction by Jesus is a call to worship. “Extravagant respect or admiration for or devotion” is the love that He is talking about, and He is the divine being we are offering reverence to. When Jesus commands us to love Him with ALL our heart, ALL our soul, and ALL our mind, He is calling us to worship Him with everything we have. Every fiber of our inner most being must revere God as divine; every ounce of our strength must adore and desire the presence of the Holy Spirit; every thought that crosses our mind has to be devoted to Him. Jesus doesn’t want half-hearted, sort-of devoted people. He wants followers that drop their nets immediately to follow Him and His will. God wants whole-hearted people, because love that is not fully devoted will ultimately fail in the end.
Worship was not made for the church simply because worship is not a set time nor a planned event, but rather a lifestyle. We are not called to love God only on Sundays, and then continue to serve ourselves for the rest of the week. No. Our love for God is supposed to seep into every aspect, molecule, medium, avenue, adventure, relationship, occupation, and consumption of our lives. And that is what worship is: loving God at every second, in any season, with any situation.
Worship is whole-hearted devotion that seeks more. God continually wants us to travel deeper with our faith, in ways such as discipline, service to others, and completion of the fruit of the spirit. Which, as a side note, the sanctification process is one that will never cease until we meet with the Father in Heaven, and we are made perfect in His righteousness; therefore, you can never reach a point of complete worship. This is why God calls us deeper to Him by commanding us to love Him with ALL of ourselves.
Skeptics will say this call to action as one from a selfish, holistically narcissistic god. Why would a god that preaches selfless love demand such seemingly selfish devotion? Well, let’s remember who He is to answer this. He is the creator of the Heaven, and the Earth. He is the former of all things, the One who not only made creation, but cares for creation. Not to mention He sent His one and only son to save mankind from the damnation brought onto us by our own selfish sin. God, Himself, IS love; therefore, He deserves our love.
My challenge for you, dear reader, is to seek out the areas in your life where you could love God more. This can look like serving others more, or meditating on God’s word, or switching your focus off worldly things onto the things above, or remaining in constant communication with the Spirit, or spending time in fellowship. Whatever the lack is in your life, I encourage you to ask God for the strength to fix the need. Ask God to fill the holes, and give God your all. It is by grace we are saved, and it is by grace that we will be sanctified. Remember it is only God that can make the change in you….so let Him. Be doers of His word, of His commands, and let’s worship God with all we’ve got.
