I once attended the matinee of a mediocre Mozart opera with a friend. When it came time for the tenor to come on stage, Plácido Domingo came out to sing the role. Everyone stood and gave him a standing ovation--before he even sang!
Compare this reaction to the picture that John gives us in Revelation 4 and 5, of the One seated on a throne surrounded by 24 Elders and angels, and the response of all creation to the Lamb seated on the throne in chapter 5.
Note what N. T. Wright says about this scene:
There are a few ideas in this quote from Wright that resonate with me:
- Worship means, literally, acknowledging the worth of someone or something. All creation worships God, humans, animals, birds, et. al. because he deserves to be praised.
- Humans have something more to say when they join in the song of worship: They know Why God should be praised. He has made all things, and he has ransomed saints from all languages, people and nations.
I like what Wright says: This is God’s world as it should be, and the way it is in heaven already. I get goose bumps every time I read these two chapters of the Book of Revelation.
The question is, then, how do we worship here and now in our lives that somehow hearkens beyond us and replicates this heavenly scene?
- How can our worship acknowledge the worth of the one we worship? Who does that work out in a practical way?
- Do we fully understand the Why of worship? Do we grasp the full implications of what it means to say that God created all things, creature, nature and human, and that he has ransomed saints from all nations, tongues and peoples, to be a nation of Priests?
For me, the practical question is how can I experience or enter into worship that is worthy of God the father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.
Again, Wright gives us two ideas:
First, you become like what you worship.
What happens when you worship money, sex or power? We are shaped by our desires to conform to these objects of worship. What happens when we begin to truly worship the God who created all things and has redeemed us for himself through his son Jesus Christ by the power of his spirit?
Because we are made in God’s image, worship makes us truly human.
You discover more fully what it means to be human as well as you begin to shrink as a human; you are no longer the center of the universe.
Good start, but a long journey. I think Carson Pue (p30f) has given me some insight on this journey. He has stated that we often fall into two camps in our approach to following Christ.
The first group is similar to power-boaters, for whom the destination is of primary importance. The primary concern is to get to the destination as quickly and as safely as possible, and once there, concern shifts to having fun and enjoying the destination. This is what makes the journey worthwhile.
The second group are the sailors. The journey is as important as the destination. They enjoy the various aspects of the journey along the journey as the proceed toward the destination.
I’ve discovered that I need to become more of a sailor and less of a power-boater in my walk with Christ.
I won’t dwell on the implications of the two metaphors, but hopefully they are food for thought.
