We often hear and see church advertisements asking us to come join in worship. There are people with their eyes closed and hands raised high looking up at a stage of others doing the same. We are invited to meet with God in an atmosphere electrically charged with dynamic music and fun speakers. It seems like a lot of fun, right?
You can come in, get some coffee, socialize and sing some repetitive songs that invite you to amp yourself up emotionally. Then, listen to a pastor give some funny anecdotes, personal stories, and throw in a few verses while making alliterated points. At the end, the music appeals to your emotions again as there is a call to evaluate your life and make a change.
Yeah, I can't say I had a lot of fun in these environments. After countless hollow "worship" experiences, I began to flounder in a pit of despair. When would I get this right? Why couldn't I just be a good Christian? I felt like I saw others on this spiritual high that I could never seem to quite grasp. If I got it for a moment, it was fleeting, and I spent most of my time desperately seeking to experience it again. I spent YEARS on a hamster wheel of dissatisfaction.
Not until my thirties did I begin to realize the problem. Going to church and worship is not about what we do to please God, make him happy with us, or to give to us a spiritual high. Of course, I was miserable! I was looking for my own actions and my own heart to give me God. I was waiting for a moment when I would be able to create within myself a sanctuary fit for God. I thought my warm and fuzzy feelings equated "good" worship.
It wasn't until I began to acknowledge that I cannot do anything good without the love and grace of Jesus Christ that freedom began to truly come. When I started looking up at the cross and not within myself, the guilt began to cease. He paid it all, so why was I still trying to earn salvation by my works?
Worship isn't feeling good as you sing the same words of a song over and over again. Worship is humbly admitting my sinfulness and His holiness. It's looking up at that cross and acknowledging that I did NOTHING to deserve the Son of God taking my place. Worship is not so much of us serving God but God coming down to earth and serving us. That is love. That is salvation.
You can come in, get some coffee, socialize and sing some repetitive songs that invite you to amp yourself up emotionally. Then, listen to a pastor give some funny anecdotes, personal stories, and throw in a few verses while making alliterated points. At the end, the music appeals to your emotions again as there is a call to evaluate your life and make a change.
Yeah, I can't say I had a lot of fun in these environments. After countless hollow "worship" experiences, I began to flounder in a pit of despair. When would I get this right? Why couldn't I just be a good Christian? I felt like I saw others on this spiritual high that I could never seem to quite grasp. If I got it for a moment, it was fleeting, and I spent most of my time desperately seeking to experience it again. I spent YEARS on a hamster wheel of dissatisfaction.
Not until my thirties did I begin to realize the problem. Going to church and worship is not about what we do to please God, make him happy with us, or to give to us a spiritual high. Of course, I was miserable! I was looking for my own actions and my own heart to give me God. I was waiting for a moment when I would be able to create within myself a sanctuary fit for God. I thought my warm and fuzzy feelings equated "good" worship.
It wasn't until I began to acknowledge that I cannot do anything good without the love and grace of Jesus Christ that freedom began to truly come. When I started looking up at the cross and not within myself, the guilt began to cease. He paid it all, so why was I still trying to earn salvation by my works?
Worship isn't feeling good as you sing the same words of a song over and over again. Worship is humbly admitting my sinfulness and His holiness. It's looking up at that cross and acknowledging that I did NOTHING to deserve the Son of God taking my place. Worship is not so much of us serving God but God coming down to earth and serving us. That is love. That is salvation.
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