In my youth I was invited to a lecture hall to listen to a new band. They had put in a lot of work and had a good sound, but by the seventh song I was wondering why I was there. I thought about my reaction for a long time afterwards, and concluded that if I had become bored, it wasn’t my fault. They were the ones driving the music, and I was invited along for the ride. I wanted to get off.
I know that on any given Sunday that there are Christians sitting in church buildings thinking exactly the same thing: “I am bored, it’s not my fault, and I want to get off!”
I might agree with this sentiment if I believed God viewed church in the same light.
This I know, you don’t have to teach some Christians to turn up, sit back in worship and expect to be entertained – it comes naturally! But as natural as it is, it is not without reason. Modern worship services are designed to accommodate the worship ‘spectator.’ The viewer can either sit there week after week and enjoy the show, or if he becomes bored, move on to a more exciting church.
True Christian worship is a before, during, and after experience. Assembling is meeting in the presence of God. Fellowship is the binding of like-minded souls. Worship is the privilege of praise. Church is Christ’s body moving at His will.
In Psalm 27:4 King David expresses his deepest worship desires:
“The one thing I want from God, the thing I seek most of all, is the privilege of meditating in his Temple, living in his presence every day of my life, delighting in his incomparable perfections and glory” (Psalm 24:4). Herein lies the excitement of church. It is each and every one of us seeking to be in the presence of the Lord.
Our hearts set in one direction:
“When You said, “Seek My face,” my heart said to You, “Your face, O LORD, I shall seek” (Psalm 27:8)
John Staiger
0 Comments