Worship and respect

Worship. Wonder. The two words are interlinked. I would suggest that for worship to be worship, it must have an element of the wonder of God.

We must not fall into the temptation of reducing God into manageable terms. There will always be an element of mystery to God. That's what makes Him God.

We do our best to try to wrap our finite minds around an infinite God. It isn't going to happen.

Whatever style we sing - we must always ask ourselves the question: Is the glory and presence and wonder of God a part of our worship?

God will not be diluted, dumbed down or patronized. In Psalms 50:21 God says, "you thought I was altogether like you." No one who knows God intimately can ever be flippant in His presence. By that I mean that we must be worshippers who come prepared to worship.

I watch as some come in late, talking, conversing with one another as they come into the presence of God. Running for the back seats or seats in the balcony. It concerns me, for I long for our church family to be involved intimately with God.

I long for respect levels to be raised in God's presence. That has nothing to do with the style of songs that we sing but the attitude of our hearts.

Are we trivializing God so much that we think that coming to a morning worship service is like going to a ball game or a show at the movie theater? To be entertained?

Do we want God to like one of us?

But God is not one of us. he is God. We can't compare God, completely define God or even describe Him as much as we want to - outside of the Word of God.

That's why we must not fall into the trap of thinking that God owes us anything. Something goes wrong - we think God owes us to explain why. That kind of thinking destroys faith and insults the sovereignty of God. Some of the hard questions we ask in life will never be answered this side of heaven.

Yet even in those dark times we must accept that God is God.

One writer put it this way, "God is His own interpreter." You and I can't work Him out like a math equation or force Him to fit into our way of thinking.

Let us draw near to God and He will draw near to us.