Not Just on Sunday

I want to put out a thank you to Darrell over at The Dawg Howse for bringing up the topic of worship. It got me thinking about what worship really is, and why we as Christians worship. When some people think of worship, they think of Sunday morning church services, because that is the traditional time to go to church and worship. Some also think that worship isn't worship unless they are singing a hymn or chorus. Some people think that they have to clap their hands, and raise them in the air to really worship God. While these are all aspects of worship, these alone are not worship.

First of all, we need to know what the word means. Worship means to express reverent love and devotion to God. It also means to ascribe worth to God. Simply, worship means to express our love and devotion to God, to realize that we are expressing to him how much he means to us. But you see, that isn't just something we do on Sunday morning, in a public worship service. Worship is private, too. We need to understand that worship isn't simply an act, but it is a way of life. Perhaps an illustration would be helpful. I love my wife. But how do I express that love and devotion I have for her? If I kept myself busy all week long, and only popped by once in a while to tell her that I love her, my marriage wouldn't last very long, would it? But I try to express my love, not just by the words I say, but by my actions. I show her my love in caring about how her day went, and taking the time to listen. I show her how much I love her by occasionally cooking dinner, and cleaning up afterward. I show her my love by surprising her with flowers or chocolates. You see, my love for my wife causes me to reach out and express it with my life.

It's the same in our worship of the Lord Jesus Christ. Our lives should be expressions of worship to him. It's not just about the songs we sing, or the time we go off to church, but it's shown through walking in honesty and integrity. It's done through obeying God's commands. Jesus even said that if we love him, we will keep his commandments (John 14:15). We express our worship in how we treat others, through loving our neighbors. We express our worship to God in giving, not just money, but our time, our gifts and our talents. We express our worship by going to work and doing our jobs with excellence, because we are working not to simply please the boss, but The Boss, the Lord Jesus himself.

I want to honor the Lord in all that I do. I want him to take pleasure in my life, in every area of it. Just as Christ offered up his life as sweet-smelling sacrifice to God, I want my life to be that sweet-smelling sacrifice. It's my desire to show him my love for him by living out my life totally for him. I pray that it is your desire, too. God bless.