Worship

I was just reading Albert Mohler's post about worship. Admittedly, I didn't have time to finish it yet. I'll finish it tonite. Before I forget, I just wanted to put my two cents in on the topic. When I'm worshiping, the things we fight about just seem immaterial. We just seem to be missing the point.

People around me seem to think that "young" worship has to do with clapping or style of music or raising hands or some outward thing. (What clapping is really good for is giving my little hyperactive nieces something to keep them busy and out of trouble. They're not good at following the words to the songs yet, but I can keep them out of trouble clapping.) I'm not so young anymore (38), but what I'm seeking is none of those things. It's connection. Anything that facilitates that connection is something that we welcome (sometimes too readily.)

This Sunday, though, it happened this way. I slipped into the back row. My Sunday School teacher slipped in beside me. There was an adorable baby in her momma's arms in front of us. My teacher and her husband started playing quietly with this baby. I just got the thought . . . that's what God's like with us. We're all like that little baby to him. Oh, there's no words. Don't we all love playing with babies. I don't know why. But, it just seemed like God was saying to me that we were all His babies and he delighted in each of us just like we delighted in that little baby in front of me. This made me just beam up at Him, . . . like a bloomin' idiot. God loves me so much, and I make such a mess of it. It's just so wonderful to believe that He still loves me and forgives me and values me. What could possibly be better! Speaking in tongues couldn't be better than just that knowledge. I'm not saying that I don't believe in speaking in tongues. I'm just saying that I have absolutely no need of it. I have all I need. I have God. He's just so cool sometimes. It doesn't matter what you do or what you wear. What matters is what condition your heart is in. James would say that what you do and what you wear (fruit) is certainly an indicator of where your heart is and therefore important. Music and message can certainly have a little influence over the condition of your heart, but nothing can really dim joy that you've spent all week cultivating and preparing for. Hymns. Praise music. I love them all. I like worshiping in comfortable clothes in the evening, but I think getting at least a little dressed up on Sunday morning is a witness to my neighbors. But all that isn't really about worship at all. It's about something else. It's peripheral. It's like a nat detracting from worship. Get over it.