Thesauruses are fun. Dictionaries are boring, but there are so many amazing things to discover in a thesaurus. Did you know instead of saying someone was bad, you could call them a “corrupt, unscrupulous, depraved, substandard, wayward, ruinous, austere, putrid little imp”? Instead of saying you hated someone, you could say that your detestation, odium, and abhorrence with their very existence was due to their grating, discordant, vexing character (or lack thereof). Are you excited about thesauruses yet? I sure hope you are!
So, just because I have a brilliant little mind, I typed one simple word into the box (what, you didn’t think I actually used a book, did you?): worship.
There was nothing about religion, chanting monotonous prayers, skimming over Bible verses, or being good. There were seven words on the screen, standing simple and alone, yet all pointing up to the first, worship.
Adoration.
Love.
Reverence.
Respect.
Devotion.
Adulation.
Veneration.
What if we started talking like that? Instead of calling your brother a brat, you would say he was unscrupulous, and he would be totally lost because of his lack of awesomeness.
What if we started living like that? What if, instead of hoping we were being righteous enough, we poured out our hearts to God, showering Him with our simple adoration, with our reckless love, our quiet reverence, our well-deserved respect, our complete devotion, our glorifying adulation, and our highest veneration? What if, instead of seeing God as the uncaring, far away God He isn’t, we started seeing him for the loving, adoring God He is?
Worship is not singing, bowing our heads, or trying to act holy. Worship is simply offering everything you have to God because you adore Him and love Him and are devoted to Him.
Remember Mary Magdelene? (Read her story in Luke 7:37-47.) She was a prostitute, as her painted, downcast eyes told the crowd that had gathered outside the Pharisee’s door. In her hand she held a vial of expensive perfume. When she entered the house, she poured the perfume on Jesus’ feet, cleansing them with her tears, and then drying His feet with her hair. That was the most beautiful act of worship I can think of. She had never met Jesus, but she loved Him and adored Him and wasn’t afraid to let anyone know.
A verse from Ephesians 5 says, “Sing songs from your heart to God.” Isn’t that true love, something that just bursts from somewhere deep within you so that you can’t help but shout?
Isn’t it a strange feeling, to be so sure of something’s meaning, and then be blown away by how wrong you were? At the same time, it’s a good feeling, like I finally got it right.
This is what worship is about. Love. Adoration. Devotion. An adoring cry to an adoring God.
