What it means to worship

When we worship God, and we can only rightly use the word “worship” in regards to God, because nothing and no one else deserves our worship. But when we do worship God, all we do is

appreciate God at the level he deserves!

All of us like to be appreciated. And I mean genuine appreciation, not flattery. There is a huge difference. An example would be if someone says to me “Rick, you are absolutely the handsomest man on the face of the earth.” It does not make me feel good because I know it isn’t true. And I know they know it isn’t true. Flattery does not make us feel good, it makes us feel lied to. But when someone says something that is both good and true about you, you feel validated, affirmed and blessed, because this person cares enough to notice something good about you.

So when we worship God, or

appreciate him at the level he deserves

we cannot flatter him, because all superlatives of good are true about God. He is not only the best God there is, he is the only true and living God. He not only Created the best world we have ever seen, he is the only Creator of the entire universe, and all that is good and beautiful and true, including that which is too far away for us to see, even with the Hubble telescope, or too small for us to see, even with the most powerful microscope!

He loved us so much he sent Jesus, the Christ, to be our Savior—the savior of the entire world! “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the whole world through him might be saved.

Jesus loves us so much he sent us his Holy Spirit, the Spirit of the Father and the Son, to be with us and live in us.

Paul also helps us to understand that true worship is not only when we come together in holy places, but true worship is a life rightly lived in the purpose and power of God. In Romans 12:1(NIV) Paul writes, Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.

So we gather in holy places to worship God and in so doing, we worship him more effectively in every other hour of our lives and in every place we go because we now understand it is all holy ground.

Eternal God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—we have come to praise you! You, who are light and life and truth and beauty and so many other superlatives beyond our comprehension. All we can offer you is genuine love, enduring faith, hearts bursting with praise and thanksgiving for your goodness to us, and a life well lived in the power of your Spirit. We lift our hearts in genuine offerings of praise and thanksgiving to you. In the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord.

I'm Rick Blumenberg . . .and that's "My View from Tanner Creek."