I was driving to school this morning listening to Revolution, by George Barna. My buddy TJ loaned me his copy on CD, and like him, I have to rewind pretty frequently just to make sure I heard what I think I heard.
I had listened to one section about three times. The point was that worship is not for the worshipper but for the one worshipped. I understood that and listened on. A while later, as I got excited about the idea of revolutionary Christian living, I finally truly got the point. I was driving along, thinking "I want to do something important (for God)". The emphasis was of course on me. I want to be important. But a revolutionary doesn't see himself as important, only God is important (I know that we are important to God, Jesus died for us, etc., but our worth comes completely from Him, so it is still all about Him.)
So how does Willa fit into this? I often need real world examples to wrap my mind around ideas, and I often use my relationship with Willa. For instance, if I am watching television, Willa is lying beside me on the floor, and I turn of the TV, Willa jumps up, ready to go. This is not because she understands what a television is and that she knows the pretty pictures are gone now so I might as well leave. No, she understands me (as much as she can). She is a devoted follower of me, and when the TV goes off, she knows that I am about to move, so she gets ready to move also. I wish I had the diligence in my observation and study of God that she has in studying me.
But back to doing something important for God. Willa is a good dog. She doesn't have accidents in the house or destroy furniture, she is very obedient, and scares away people when I don't want to answer the door. I even expect her to protect our house while I am away and she is there. But, if I come home and the house has been robbed and she slept through the whole thing, would I love her less. NO, because all I truly want from her is what she gives me every day, love and absolute devotion. I don't expect her to contribute important things to the family, I don't even need for her to. I just want her to love me.
I think that's what God wants from me. My buddy TJ has a phrase - "God doesn't need me to get it done" . I think I may have just gotten it.
1 comment:
As dog understands man, so mankind understands God. (Except multiply the chasm by 100.) That's a great illustration, Leatherwing.
I think these ideas are particularly revolutionary in a culture such as ours where independence, personal identity, and personal rights are so highly revered. We have it built into our psyche that we somehow require significance as a basic human right. If you think about the Bill of Rights, it's in there that each man (which I would extraploate to say "each human being") has a certain set of rights. But I think that concept needs to be contained in the realm of mankind-to-mankind. We like to let it spill into the mankind-to-God category.
While God does say that we are worth the cost of His son's life, which is very precious indeed, He never once says that we have any certain set of inalienable rights. How can the created demand something from the Creator? How can the pot dare to shake its fist at the Potter?
So, when it comes to worship, and we try to make it about us, our tastes in worship, what we feel like giving God on a particular day, then we are really treading on thin ice. Cain had the same problem back in Genesis. And God gave Him more than one chance to "get over himself." But Cain still clung to what he thought were his inalienable rights.
I think God has fashioned each of us as vessels that are unique, and the way we worship our Maker is going to look different for each of us. I think the Creator takes great delight in the variety of worship His various vessels offer Him. And I also think He enjoys watching ME enjoy worshipping Him in the unique ways He has created me. So there is some room in there for personal preference in worship.
But if Willa were to decide that the only time she was going to sit by your feet was when you were watching a show SHE liked, or only when she couldn't find anything esle interesting to do, she would be making it more about herself and less about you.
Something I need to tell myself constantly in time of worship- "Get over yourself."
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