Photo by John Price on Unsplash
In worship, as in much of life, we get back what we bring to it.
Frequently, our discussions on worship centre on what we get out of it. We speak of “dull” or “boring” worship, as though we were not adequately entertained. We talk about “styles” of worship, as though we were discussing musicians in a concert. We choose our own “fit” because we expect the entire worship experience to “uplift”, “inspire” and “nurture” us.
Of course, if we were the centre of worship, then we could behave like consumers, expecting to be titillated. But we all recognise that true worship is not about me, but all about You, Jesus.
If that were correct, then it’s not our expectations we should be fussing about but the Lord’s!
The responsibility of bringing
In Nehemiah, we read of detailed contributions God’s people pledged to bring to the house of God:
- The Levites will “bring to the house of our God a contribution of wood”.
- “We also assume responsibility for bringing to the house of the Lord … the first fruits of our crops and of every fruit tree.”
- “We will bring the firstborn of our sons and of our cattle, of our herds and of our flocks to the house of God.”
- “We will bring to … the house of our God … the first of our ground meal, of our grain offerings, of the fruit of all our trees and of our new wine and oil.”
- “We will bring a tithe of our crops.”
All this “fussing” about what they will bring to God is an expression of their commitment that they “will not neglect the house of our God” (Nehemiah 10:34-39). That sounds pretty much like what true worship is about.
We would be concerned every week about what we will bring to the house of the Lord. We will be careful not to neglect the house of God by coming to worship empty-headed, empty-hearted and empty-handed!
No one who has ever brought anything to God in worship has ever been disappointed by God.
We would never dare come to church to loot the house of God by complaining the music was “not to our taste”, the sermon was “not to our liking”, or “they are always asking for my money”.
If we come into God’s presence with hearts pregnant with gratitude and adoration, we would be fussing all week about what we could bring to God. Then, on Sunday, we would join hundreds of others in making our offering of praise and sacrifice to the Lord. When the offering plate comes around, we would desire to jump in and offer ourselves to God as the ultimate expression of what we will bring to worship!
No one who has ever brought anything to God in worship has ever been disappointed by God. No one who concerns herself with what she can offer to God has ever left God’s house empty. No one who has given himself more fully to God in a worship experience has ever come away without a fuller reality of God.
In worship, as in life, we get back overwhelmingly more than what we bring to it.
Say, what did you bring to God’s house this morning?
This article is an excerpt from the book Ponderings En Route (Singapore, Eagles Communications, 2018) and is republished with permission. The book is available for purchase at www.eagles.org.sg.
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