Why Worship?
It's popular today for folks to say, "I can worship just as easily on the golf course as I can in the church...." or, "I can worship God better taking a walk in the woods than I ever did in church."
Maybe so. Perhaps you can. Sometimes I believe these things may be true, at least for certain times and occasions. In the months following my Mom's death, I found the idea of being in church more than I could bear. I'm not suggesting that my feelings were right, or wrong. But I would be lying if I said my feelings were anything other than what they really were. One of my life's challenges has always been to manage the degree to which my feelings run my life and behavior. I feel things very intensely, and often act on my feelings when those feelings aren't necessarily pointing me in the right direction. Still, when it came to the subject of worship and church attendance during the months after Mom died, my feelings won the day. With few exceptions, I spent my Sunday mornings on the deck in my backyard. Reading, journaling, praying, listening to my wind chimes, and watching my dog chase the squirrels.
During those long and transformative mornings, I did worship. I engaged God in an urgent and honest conversation, about life and death, and what makes it all matter. I believe without question that something very powerful took place during those times of worship. I accepted a mantel of spiritual legacy passed to me by my Mom and by my grandparents. I embraced anew the faith of my fathers. But as for worship...church services where music is played, scripture is proclaimed, and voices are raised together in song. Why go?
Why didn't I simply break away from the family of God's children and start Susie's Church of the Backyard Deck? In today's world of "I'm spiritual, but not religious," I would have found plenty of support for such an approach. I'm sure I would have many fans to champion my creativity and cheer my freedom of choice.
But in heaven, scripture teaches us worship is both personal and communal. Jesus Himself drew away to worship and pray in solitude, while faithfully participating in the worship of His community at Synagogue. It was Jesus who introduced the term church to His closest followers. The word, "church," what does it mean? It is quite simple really, because it means the called out ones.
Called out to what? To be part of the church is to be part of those who are called out by God. Called because we belong to Him. Called because we are part of a family of others who are also called.
Maybe you can relate to the idea more easily if I compare it to a common childhood experience for many of us...the moment when our Mom or Dad steps out the front door to call us home to supper. We are called home by our parents because we belong to those parents, and we belong to their family. The scripture describes this family of God as the church, and also as a body; the Body of Christ, and we are part of it. Just as your parents called you home to supper, or you call your own children home today...if you are a follower of Christ, you are part of His family, and God is continually calling you to be part of this get-together we know as church.
We are part of the whole, and we are part of one another. When we respond to God's call and we worship together; there is unique power in our togetherness that unites us, encourages us, and even transforms us. We are part of something permanent and powerful, and something very precious.
I know the church is imperfect. I realize we live in a world of entertainment and unlimited opportunity for distraction. But I also know you need worship. You need to be connected. To God, and to others who love Him. You need something permanent and transcendent in a world of change and hurt. You need to be transformed. Your soul needs nourishment and renewal. You need worship.
When we worship, we are swept away, if only for a few moments, into the love and intimacy that God offers to us. This worship, this love...is what we were created for. God loves you so much, and cares for you so completely, it is His heart's desire that you enter in to His love in the kind of worship that sweeps you away. We have this amazing opportunity to experience God's perfect and transformative love in every area of our lives, but there is a special place where His love is especially present and the sweetness of His presence especially powerful; and that special place is always found in worship.
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