The Gift of Worship

Last night, my daughter was getting ready for bed.  She suddenly said,

“Mommy, want to talk to you.  In PRIVATE.”

I looked up suddenly.  What was so important and secret that she could only say it in private without her Daddy?  I was concerned.  I started wondering…worrying…and then…

“It’s about Christmas presents,” she said.

Oh good!  That is a huge relief!  It’s only Christmas.

But then I started marveling that while she loves to get presents, she was more concerned about giving them.  Christmas is usually a time when we think about giving and RECEIVING presents.  And God, our Father, is no different.  At Christmas, he didn’t come to receive, he came first to give.

The ironic part is that he wants us first to receive before we give.  That is one of the unique connections between Christmas and worship.  As worship leader and author, Bob Kauflin writes,

“OUR FIRST RESPONSIBILITY AS CHRISTIANS IS NOT TO GIVE TO GOD BUT TO RECEIVE FROM HIM…WHEN IT COMES TO BEING A TRUE WORSHIPER, RECEIVING FROM GOD IS OUR CALLING FROM FIRST TO LAST.” (31-32)

At this point, you might be wondering, “What does that mean?”  And that’s a fair question.  Let me take you back to the very beginning of worship:  the Garden of Eden.  There Adam and Eve were created to worship.  Everything they did after opening their eyes for the first time was worship.  The problem, as you know, was when they ate the forbidden fruit.  Then their worship was mis-directed at themselves.  They thought they knew better than God.
Are we any different?  I know that I’m not.

So the first thing to realize is that we have nothing to offer God by ourselves.  We are powerless in our own strength.  It’s only through the merciful gift of the Holy Spirit working in our lives that allows us to come to God and see what he is like.  To see Jesus for who he is.  That is a gift.  That is the gift of mercy.  That is the gift that we must receive before we can worship God in spirit and truth.  Kauflin reminds us,

“WE DON’T CREATE WORSHIP; WE RESPOND TO WHAT WE’VE RECEIVED IN JESUS CHRIST – ETERNAL LIFE.  AND THAT GIFT CONTINUES TO BE THE BASIS UPON WHICH WE COME TO WORSHIP GOD.” (39)

So this Christmas, be like my daughter.  Give and give generously, but do it because you’ve first received God’s gift of mercy…salvation…eternal life.

That is the gift of worship.

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Thanks to Bob Kauflin for his book, “True Worshipers:  Seeking What Matters to God“.  The quotes came from it.  I will also be teaching a class in January from this book as we try to connect our weekend worship with the rest of our lives!