We had a wonderful time of worship at the Farmingdale Christian Church yesterday. But during the time of worship, a scripture came to mind. Romans 12:1-2, which says (NIV), "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." As I thought on this, while singing songs with words like, "I will worship..." and "I will bow down..." it really got me thinking.
"I" refers to the being that is me. All of me. In my entirety. And here I was singing, "I will worship." All of me? My whole self, as a living sacrifice, as Romans calls for?
What then came to mind is that my worship is far more than the words I sing in church on Sunday. It is as much, if not more, about the words I speak at home on Monday or at work on Tuesday. It is far more than raising my hands during service. It is about reaching out with those hands to touch the lives of those around me. It is more than bowing my knee for a song or two. It is about stooping down to help those around me who may need a hand up.
Please don't take what I am saying as if to say that our gathering as a Church in worship services around the world is unimportant, because that is not at all what I am saying. There is power to be found when God's people come together like that. What I am saying, though, is that our worship of our Lord Jesus needs to be so much more than a few hours on Sunday morning. It needs to be a whole surrender to Him, to be used for His good pleasure.
