How do I know that? No matter what mood I'm in, she comes to me for affection. No matter whether I'm good to her, or mad at her, or even indifferent to her, she wants to be near me. Even when I express anger towards her, rather than running away from me she presses in to me for affection.
In his conversation with the Samaritan woman at the well, Jesus says, "Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kinds of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and truth" (John 4: 23-24).
Worship is the central activity of the child of God. Not only are we called upon to worship now in this life, but notice that this is the preoccupation of the 24 elders in the book of Revelation. Every time something happens, they fall on their faces in worship before the Lamb.
The primary word in the New Testament that is translated "worship" is proskuneo. By the time of the writing of the New Testament, it had the primary idea of a supplicant approaching their superior and making obeisance. That is, kneeling and then prostrating with forehead touching the ground. Think of devout Muslims on their prayer rugs bowing in reverence.
But the roots of the word convey something more intimate. The word means literally "draw near to kiss." So, the vassal would kneel, take the hand of the superior and kiss it. Imagine the supplicant kissing the Pope's ring.
But if we go even farther back than this, the word is derived from kuon which literally means to kiss the hand like when a dog licks the hand of his master. You see my dog worships me.
From this I derive three ideas:
First, true worship involves our whole being including our bodies. It is not enough to think worshipful thoughts in our heads, we must express it through our bodies. We in the West, often forget that faith is not just lived out in our beliefs divorced from our actions. "Faith without works (deeds, actions) is dead (lifeless, frozen)" (James 2: 26). So, if the song you are singing says, "I lift up my hands...", why not lift up your hands? If you sing, "I bow before you...", why not bow before Him? If you sing, "I kneel down...", why not kneel down?
Second, God loves it when we worship Him. He is actively seeking for those who will give themselves to spiritual and truthful worship. We can expect to experience God's loving Presence in our midst when we give ourselves to real worship.
Third, worship is an expression of our unconditional love for God. Just like a dog licking her master's hand--we are called to eagerly love God through worship. Not because we always "feel loving" towards God (see my last blog entry titled, "Love God") but because He is our Master and we are His people and that is what the relationship is all about.
Worship in many ways is simply bringing all things into proper alignment. He's the Creator and I'm the creature--and worship reflects that reality. He's God and I'm not--and worship reflects that reality. He's the source of all grace and I'm the recipient of all heavenly blessings--and worship reflects that reality.
So, why not learn to worship like a dog?
wuff, wuff
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