Today while talking to my friend Ron, I was reminded of the ditches that some believers tend to fall into. Here's what I mean: One group of Christians tend to worship God with only their minds. These are usually the conservative and cerebral crowd, and they seem to only get excited when talking about intellectual theology. Another group, who not being as academically astute, seem to worship God with only their emotions. You'll see this group compensating by becoming over-emotional, running the isles, and playing the church version of "Simon Says" - viz - "Slap your neighbor five and say amen." Now I admit, I am certainly not anyone to pay serious attention to, but I would nonetheless like to give my opinion on this subject. Personally, I find both examples to be extremes, and I doubt that God is pleased with either. God is neither pleased with our intellects (since his foolishness is wiser than our wisdom at it zenith), or with our emotional, yet empty shouts of praise. We must remember that this God of ours knows the intents of men's hearts. God knows the motivations for why we do anything, and if they aren't from godly motives, they aren't pleasing to God. And yet motives aren't all that needs to be addressed. Men may be motivated by a desire to please God, and still be in error. Consider Jesus' words in John 4:23:
"But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him."
The question is asked, "how do we worship the Father spirit and truth?" My answer would be this: We worship God in spirit and truth by first knowing Him. To know God, which is the great end of man's existence, involves learning of God; who he is as he revealed himself through his word (e.g., his communicable and incommunicable attributes), what he likes and does not like, what he requires of his creation, etc., etc. When we know God, especially by his attributes and by his likes and dislikes, the latter and final part to Jesus' words are fulfilled, and we will worship God in truth. Thus the great commandment is fulfilled..."You shall love God with all of your heart and all of your mind and all of your soul." When we love God in this manner - and I'm not saying we will do this perfectly on this side of eternity - we won't be, as it were, settling for scrapes by manipulting moves of God through higher thinking or emotionalism. Rather, we will have a healthy balance of proper emotions that spring from a right understand of God.
Top Stories
Posts
0 comments:
Post a Comment