Why do we feel compelled to give adoration to someone or something? The simplest answer relates back to Blaise Pascal’s famous quote “There is a God shaped vacuum in the heart of every man which cannot be filled by any created thing, but only by God, the Creator, made known through Jesus.” We have this inside of us at our very core that we are designed to give adoration to ascribe worth to one who is greater.

This has been used by many manipulative tyrants down through the eons of history to marshall loyal followers to their cause. Granted is has also been used by leaders and visionaries to promote great advances as well. But under it all we have this deep desire to give of ourselves to one who is worthy or has proven their worthiness to us in some way.

I’ve heard somewhere that worship came from an old AngloSaxon concept best expressed as worthship or the act of ascribing worth to someone something and it does seem to be an accurate take on the idea. When something is of great worth we will sacrifice all to protect it, to care for it. When someone is of great worth we will, likewise, protect and care for them but will also serve them to accomplish that care and protection.

The saints of old called it our “reasonable service” to venerate the only One who is worthy of our adoration.

Yet we as imperfect men elevate almost everything else above our devotion to Papa God on a regular basis. That is our struggle, we have this knowing in our spirit that there is only one who is worthy of our praise and worship but we constantly put ourselves on His throne in our lives because we are broken apart from Him.

I remember listening to some really excellent music being played. Highly skilled musicians exercising their craft in a way that was extremely pleasing to the ear and also so complex in its melodic textures. I believe it was either jazz or possibly bluegrass, the exact form or song is not important, but the word Papa spoke to my heart still resonates today.  It was a perfect example of that moment musicians long for, when a group clicks, when all the instruments or voices come together and their collective sound rises to a new level of harmony and beauty.  It’s the time we all long for, when jamming with others or just sitting around pickin’ & a grinnin’, that magical time when it all comes together perfectly.

At that precise moment I felt I heard Papa God say, “it’s all worship”, they think it’s just a glorious time lost in the music but I’m there rejoicing in my creation, in the beauty they are creating because of the gifts i planted in them when they were being formed in their mother’s wombs.
The very act of playing the music inside us, “releasing the sound,” as one of my dearest friends says, is fulfillment of our very purpose for existing. I think he’s onto something there which lines up with what I heard. If we are exercising the creativity in us, are we not displaying the very spark of the divine in us which sets us apart as ones created in the image of the master musician. After all was it not His words sung into the void which set all into motion?

The thing which struck me was that these musicians were playing music simply for the joy of the music, for the fellowship of the song, the power in the melody. I remember those times when everybody in the band clicked and the music went from just a tune to something truly amazing. Music may be the purest form of communication we have it is most certainly the most powerful. Do we not remember all the words of many songs we listened to in our youth wether we want to or not. I think this is one of the reasons we equate worship with something musical in the American Church. But is exists outside the four walls of the church edifice, worship goes on 24×7 in all of creation.

I would contend that all of our life is worship, especially in light of the concept of adoration and who should be the object of our constant adoration. But more on that later…..

Let’s look at it as an English word and that it is not necessarily related to some formal service in a building specially constructed for meetings. Simply put, worship is defined “adoring reverence or regard”. Yes it is a concept most commonly associated with deity and some form of religious service but I would contend it is more properly, the core of who we are as human beings, fashioned in the image of our creator. We are made to worship, it is built into the center of our soul and psyche that we are most fulfilled by our active worship. For the acts of true worship are an integral part of our relationship with the living God. They constitute our side of the conversation of life in Him. The real question is who / what is the object of our worship for we easily loose sight of the only one worthy.

“Adoring reverence or regard” let’s break that down a bit:
Adoration
the act of paying honor, as to a divine being, fervent and devoted love
Reverence
a feeling or attitude of deep respect tinged with awe; veneration.
Regard
to have or show respect or concern for.

Now, how about the Hebrew word most often translated worship: shachah [Strongs H7812] To prostrate oneself. (the act of laying down before the object of our adoration)

Is this not what all of life is? laying down our very existence, our time at the altar of whatever we deem the most important thing at that moment. Look at our efforts to gain approval and acceptance in life, the way we offer up our selves totally to the entity from which we desire validation. We will sacrifice everything for a cause or leader just to gain that feeling of worth which comes from such sacrifice and service.

Yet some say, I serve no one, I’m my own master, the captain of my fate…. In the end even if we carry off the facade of self reliance and independence we are still desperately seeking that approval which comes only the true source of life.

more to follow……