Living Worship

The Westminster Shorter Catechism states that

the chief end, or purpose, of humanity is

“to glorify God, and to enjoy Him forever. "

Human beings were created to glorify God -- to worship Him.  

So how does this ultimate purpose of worship

 look in our everyday lives?  

The last thing I wrote about was worship,

Praising God though the Pain

in an intentional act of surrender,

which is a very real part of life.

 But as a mother (and homeschool teacher especially),

 my days often feel ordinary, routine, and repetitive. 

I am not always going through something gut-wrenching

that requires me to choose to worship through the pain. 

I am not always surrounded by visions of God’s majesty.  

Honestly most of a believer’s worship is not very glamorous or exhilarating. 

So how do we worship in the everyday? 

When we’re teaching school, doing dishes, grocery shopping,

-- all those mundane responsibilities? 

How does worship fit into LIFE?

 

Often when I pray with my girls at breakfast time,

 I ask that God would help us

to worship Him with our lives that day.

 When I pray that, it’s because of the first verse in Romans chapter 12. 

The one that says,

“ Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, 

in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, 

holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.” 

The word for “worship” in this verse 

can also be translated as “service”. 

That’s intriguing to me.

 If I want to worship God in my normal daily life,

 (knowing that worship is the reason I even exist)

this verse has a key!  All my ordinary day long,

my physical body is doing something. 

So here’s the punch line – am I ultimately doing

all I’m doing for God? 

Because if what I’m doing is for God,

then the very actions of my physical body are worship to God. 

Now that’s cool. 

I don’t even have to be deliberately thinking about God

to be worshiping Him. 

By the power of Jesus Christ in me, my very LIFE

 can be an act of worship to Him. 

Every little thing can be done to glorify Him.  

(On the other hand, life can happen isn’t worship to God.

 I know this very well!  But that’s a whole different subject.)

 

The Apostle Paul’s prayer for the Colossian people says it so well,

“… We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of

 his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives,

 so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord 

and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work,

 growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened 

with all power according to his glorious might 

so that you may have great endurance and patience, 

and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you 

to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light. 

For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness

 and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, 

in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” 

Colossians 1:9-14