Why do I worship?

I was asking myself this question today as I talked to a pastor of a rather influential church. Why don't we get it? Why can't people understand the reason we were created? Why can't the church realize it's main function? Why do I worship?

You're probably saying what don't I get? I worship God. That's exactly how I've felt my entire life. God is good, God is great, yada yada yada. But until recently I never grasped the reason for my existence or the reason for creation at all. I know we were all taught that we were created to worship God, that's great but how do we worship? Why do we worship? Why do I worship this God that thought it would be best to create me the way that I am? I know I would have done things differently. But then I'm brought back to reality by the simple fact that I'm not God and God's ways are not my ways and so on. And so why do I worship Him if His ways are not my ways, why don't I worship something that agrees with me, like a boulder?

The entire concept of worship has been so abused by the church in the last century that none of us fully understand, nor ever will understand, it's complete purpose.

I don't want to talk about forms of worship, but rather why we worship. I've come to realize that not one of us will ever worship in the same manner, they may be similar but my heart will never say the same thing as yours.

So why do I worship God? The short answer is that I, alone in my own power, am incapable of worshipping God. Yes I can go through the motions, but that is only because I want to please those around me, hence my worship is people directed rather than God directed. Yes we were created by God to worship God, but because of sin we are entirely incapable of even coming close to acceptable worship.

The only way that I can worship is to be drawn into it by something or someone stronger than myself. This is called the leading the of the Holy Spirit. You see, your job is not to concentrate on the form of worship, your job is to submit to the leading of the Holy Spirit. Our job is to live our lives in such a way that everything we do, everything we say is directed by this indwelling. Thus bringing Glory to God, the entire premise of the Bible as stated in the book of Romans. I truly believe that our job as followers of Christ is to simply give up. To give up control of our lives, our thoughts, our actions. Give up everything that was held dear to our old self. Once we give up control, we have no choice but to do that which we are called to do, worship.

So why do I worship? The answer is simple, yet profound. I worship because I have no choice, I can't do anything else. If I live a life of full surrender, everything I do, everything I say, will be done out of worship for my God.

lata

mike