Reverence and Awe!
In Hebrews 12:14-29, Paul writes about our relationship with God. In this passage he starts off by talking about living at peace with all men and being holy. But then he tells us that God is not a God who is the "all seeing eye" just waiting for us to mess up so he can zap us. Then in verses 22-24 Paul paints a beautiful picture of what God is - that brings up an image of Jesus in Heaven waiting for us with open arms. Paul then closes out the passage with verses 28 and 29 saying that since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, we should be thankful, and worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our "God is a consuming fire."
What does the fire have to do with our worship? Well if you have been around fire very much you know that is a very powerful force. One that demands respect. If you have ever been around a bonfire you know that you can't get too close or you will get burned. If you have ever seen the after effects of a wildfire you know how devestating it can be. But in that bonfire there is something mesmerizing that makes you want to stare into it. In that devestation there is something that makes you think "Wow!" It seems almost impossible that something could be so powerful. With fire there is a certain amount of respect or reverence and awe.
In our relationship with God, our worship (both public and private) is one way of giving back to God. Paul says that in order to do it acceptably there has to be reverence and awe. Throughout the scriptures there are accounts of where God, in the Old Testament, dealt directly and devestatingly with man. In the New Testament there are accounts where Jesus forgave sins, healed and raised men from the dead. For many years we have maintained that our corporate worship has to be orderly and reverent, and rightly so. But in that, I believe many have forgotten that part of our acceptable worship should contain awe.
The best allusion that I can make to reverence and awe is when we are children and we sit in our father's lap. We get lost in our father's love. We have reverence because he is also the one who disciplines us, we have awe because he is our daddy and we are mesmerized by his strength and the things he does - it makes us want to be just like him.
Some day I hope to "sit in God's lap" and get lost in His love. There are times in song and prayer that I approach the relationship that I desire to have with Him, but it seems like when I get the closest to God is when I am not even thinking about God at all. It is during these times when I am serving my fellow man that I believe I am closest to God.
I hope we are all mesmerized by God's strength and the things He does. Jesus was the ultimate servant and the things He did were inspiring - it makes me want to be just like Him!
Have a worship-filled day!
posted by HeartMan @ 7:36 AM
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