Abandoned Worship

I wonder.  I wonder what worship with abandon looks like to each of us.  Merriam Webster defines abandon as giving up control or influence to another or giving up the right to claim interest in an item such as property.  What if when we worshipped God we let God be in charge of our worship?  What if we gave up the right to choose how we worshipped or expressed our worship and let God be in charge?  Would it look different?

As a "transitive verb," abandon connects us with another object.  I wonder, to whom have we abandoned control or the parameters of worship?  God or the corporate local church?  God or the voice of a well-meaning elder from our past?  God or our own sense of respectful constraint?  To whom do we direct our abandon or even our worship at all?

Merriam-Webster also defines abandon as giving "oneself over unrestrainedly."  I wonder...  as I contemplate how immigrants to this country wonder why we are so constrained about our worship of God... why are we so constrained?  Who has done this to us? And how do we break the constraint?

I wonder sometimes if we have done it to ourselves because we think it is what will look best in the eyes of non-Christians.  Non-Christians who belt out the lyrics to a song at a secular concert.  Non-Christians who decorate themselves in paint and the team colors at an athletic event.  Non-Christians who are not afraid to express public displays of affection when they feel the tug of passionate love.  Non-Christians who are not afraid of expressing anger.  Non-Christians who are not afraid of passion.  I wonder why becoming a Christian in the Midwest means becoming a person who constrains all passions, not just worldly passions.  I wonder what it would mean if we allowed ourselves to express spiritual passion. Not spiritual passion to judge wrong from right, but spiritual passion for God!

I wonder why we don't worship God with abandon.





Comments

  1. Mark MackeyJuly 11, 2017 at 6:22 AM

    Awesome! Great way to start the day, I hope you do more!

    ReplyDelete

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