Where Worship Begins
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Where Worship Begins
Our wisdom is divided into two parts: knowledge of God and our knowledge of ourselves.
We cannot aspire to God in earnest until we are displeased with ourselves. Every man is likely to accept himself as the arbiter of his peace and pleasure, so long as he does not discover who he really is. But, if or when he becomes mindful of his shortcomings, his discontent urges him to seek rebalancing. What formerly delighted his naïve ego becomes exposed and he is then simply and irreparably deficient in himself and thus dissatisfied within himself. As long as he uses the variables of the social cultural plagues of earth to retain his soul balance, he can be incompletely satisfied by his ego hypocrisy. Since he is prone to hypocrisy, any semblance of righteousness becomes enough to satisfy his conscience short of righteousness itself, or he seeks out a solution to his deficiency
But God never desires for him to be left alone in that condition – a condition of self-deception and condemnation. But, until a man confronts the face of God, he never attains real knowledge and understanding of his incapacity. The whole of the premise of Romans Chapter 1 reveals his insignificance and challenges his self-deceived condition before the majesty of God.
The simple and primitive knowledge of God in the course of nature would reveal, and the general doctrine of scripture of Creator and later as Redeemer places us in the precarious condition where we cannot conceive of God without rendering some worship and awe of Him.
There is not now, nor has there ever been, any person, household, country or nation that does not possess an inherent understanding that there is a God. It is more difficult to obliterate this knowledge than to remove any other condition of man. What manner of man has not, when confronted by the greatest of terror, called out to God with an ambition of reverencing Him as a mitigating mediator? Those who most vehemently deny the existence of God are those who are most easily disturbed by the “stick falling from the sky”. This is an indication in itself of the reality of the God awareness within every person.
This insight lends itself to the self-reflective imbalance of wondering where does God begin to participate in the universal condition and where does God stop influencing the general conditions and circumstances of life. Until people resolve this conundrum by understanding they owe everything in life to the Creator and Sustainer of life, the author of all that is, and all that is yet to come, they can never submit to Him in voluntary obedience. Truth and sincerity in their hypocrisy and self-deceit are reduced to superstition and mistrust.
For far too many people their sense and definition of God comes from the basic sense of their conscience. Their perception of God is predicated on their introduction to moral sensibilities given to them in their development as children and earlier influences. These qualities of their inner god are often developed on the teachings of their parents or adult influences. They may or may not be profoundly strong or deeply flawed, or they could be nearly absent in the liberal allowances of the child to “grow up and experience life for himself” and thus draw his or her own conclusions about the rules of society. Influences such as advertisement, media presentations, school-peers etc, are powerful influences. As a result of these influences the created perception of God will have various nuances that are flagrantly flawed.
God may be learned to be a jolly outdated old grandfather, the grand old man, a simple small voice of choice that can be listened to or ignored, propagandized as a Santa Claus character, an over-exacting tyrant, a marginalized voice, dominating authority to be feared, or a clown of someone’s imagination, meek and mild, even just sentimental. A disrespected father, an over bearing tyrant, a menial mouse, an unpredictable, inconsistent personality, a loose liberal and really fearful parent, or nearly infinite other derivations of a father/parent all lend themselves to the image children can develop of God. As age advances, and adulthood succeeds, most adults have a God image redefined within them that is way too small and narrow, insufficient to succeed in the most trivial intrusions into life.
We must leave behind the “hangover” of childhood influences if we are to find a God big enough to be real and authentic. We must allow that God is eternal, vital, energetic, discerning, competent, invested, unimpaired, transcendent and… He is the great I AM. In context He is unlimited in all characteristics – Holy, Righteous, Merciful, Discerning Judge, Gracious, Loving…the list is infinite just as He is also.
Putting God in the box of our own limited capacity of design understanding is detrimental to others and ourselves in our influence. God is not a “good churchman”. He is not a respecter of traditions, preferences or denominations. He has a singular agenda the correct way to a relationship with Him is through Christ, who made it as simple as being on the cross and professing belief He, Jesus, is the sinless Son of God. () ()
Reverencing God is from the beginning of our self-discovery the end product of our pursuit. If we conceive of a god that is less than the ultimate perfection in power, omniscience, holy character, love, trustworthiness, and compassion, we are always stranded in apathetic pendulum of unrest. We will continually wander in the abyss of misdirection, mismanagement, and mistrust. Anxiety replaces fickle peace, and presumption replaces hope, and faith is replaced by fear.
The “protectionism” found in childhood is now challenged, and the adult is now looking for a god who provides according to a child’s attitude and failing discretion. Taking responsibility is necessary, exercising discernment is required, being resourceful and informed is mandatory; self-initiative is a mandate… God encourages these characteristics and will provide us the wisdom to be effective, the power to overcome obstacles, and guide us in our lost-ness. God has revealed Himself in Creation (not evolution), intervenes in and mediates in world affairs, and is the Christ – our Redeemer. While it can be stated with truth man is made in the image of God, God is not a glorified man. He requires us to acknowledge His preeminence as THE GOD – THE ONE AND ONLY GOD.
If this inherent knowledge that there is a God, and this undeniable condition of a man’s persona is present, and he does not apply with diligence his energy to assuage the emptiness left by its ignoring, he will fail to fulfill the natural law of his being; He will continue in active denial of a God who yearns that none should perish, and, until his last breath he will be in combat with his own being.
Genuine worship and assured faith result from the call of God on a person who responds in humility by affirming the nature and character of God, and the deficiency of self. Reverence results as confidence and inspiration with greater and greater sincerity in the bonds of worship, love and faithfulness bring us to sincerely worship God for who He truly is.
For your further reading enjoyment and growth –
“Your God Is Too Small” by J. B. Phillips
“Institutes of Christian Religion” by John Calvin