How do you define worship? Do you picture someone bowing down in front of an object or someone singing a Jesus song with hands raised high? Neither of these is actually worship, but merely reactions of worship. True worship takes place in the heart. Walk into many church buildings across the country on any given Sunday and you’re sure to find a wide range of differnt reactions of “worship”. Some reactions are active (standing, singing, clapping, etc.) while others are more solumn (meditation, silence and solitude, personal prayer, etc.). Neither is more spiritual, which means one method is not better than another. That being said, any given reaction of worship will not prove your level of spirituality.
Because worship is a matter of the heart, neither you nor I am able to judge a person’s true intentions of worship. This is why Jesus said that the Father is looking for those who worship in Spirit and in Truth. You have no one but God to impress with your worship. Frankly, if you find yourself in competetion with another person over who can appear more spiritual, you should definitely reevaluate who is actually the center of your worship. I’m guessing you’ll find that it’s not Jesus.
“Worship naturally flows out of prioritized relationships.”
Simply put, you worship that one that you intentionally spend time and resources getting to know. If Jesus is the one you worship, you will find yourself spending time in prayer, Scripture, and meditation. You’ll see yourself becoming generous as Jesus was generous. You’ll learn to love what he loves, hate what he hates, become indifferent to the things that he was indifferent to. His passions will become yours, and you will slowly find yourself becoming more like him and less like the old you. THESE are all examples of Godly reactions to the worship of Jesus.
If you choose to worship Jesus, do it with ALL of your heart. Half-hearted worship is the fruit of the spirit of religion. True worship of Jesus stems from experiencing the presence of God in your life.
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