Self Absorbed or Christ Adored?
I stayed up late Saturday night. I had planned to spend my last Sunday at the 10:45am service at my church. That way I could sleep in and be refreshed and happy to go and worship. It's funny how God shakes even the littlest of my plans to teach me something about Himself.
My mom came in my room at 8:20am and informed me that the rest of my family would be going to the early service at 9am, and would I like to go with them? Of course, given my 6 hours of sleep (I like a good 9 on a normal night), I was in no mood to move from my cozy nest. I grumbled to my mom, angry that even if I wanted to go, it was 8:20 and we needed to leave in 25 minutes. I must have at least an hour to get ready, due to the thick mop on my head. I was not happy. I grumbled some rude remarks and turned over in my bed, angry. About five minutes later I decided my family would be mad at me if I didn't get up, so I stomped down the stairs and slammed the bathroom door on my way to getting ready. I knew that I was having an attitude, but my pride got in the way and I was too tired to let it go.
I sat through the beginning of the worship service, in my self-absorbed state, no where ready to come before God with a heart pure for worship. One of the first songs we sang, was revelation song. This is where I realized that there was a serious lesson I needed to learn that Sunday. Revelation song is one of my favorite songs to sing, so a tiny spark of excitement jumped from my awful mood. On about the third repeat of the chorus, I began to listen to the words, rather than just sing them. For those of you who aren't familiar, the chorus goes like this:
Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty
Who was and is and is to come
With all creation I sing praise to the King of kings
You are my everything and I will adore You
When we sang the last line, is when I first realized my lesson that morning. I am a thinker, and thinkers are struck into the deepest of thought by even the smallest trigger. For me, it was the word "adore." I began to think about my sour attitude and the way I had been acting that morning. I thought about adoration and how the world today adores all the wrong things (something I so often do). I grumbled to get out of bed that morning, what would I have done if I was going to see someone I adored? Say one of my favorite bands, or someone I loved and hadn't seen in a long time, the list could go on. I probably wouldn't have slept all night and would have bounded out of bed to be ready as quickly as possible to meet with them. I scribbled a few questions into my sermon notes:
I head back to Waynesburg today. I could write a novel on all of the things God has taught me so far at Waynesburg, and all of the exciting things I have coming up this year, but I'll save it for another day because I still haven't packed a thing (maybe it's time I learn a lesson on procrastination?). But with this idea of adoration on my mind, that is my prayer for this coming year and for my entire life. I pray that each and every day I become more and more in awe of Christ. That my love for Him continues to deepen, and that I love him fervently with my whole heart. Because that's how He loves me. And it is so very evident in his goodness and grace. Oh, and did I mention He's pretty forgiving?
My mom came in my room at 8:20am and informed me that the rest of my family would be going to the early service at 9am, and would I like to go with them? Of course, given my 6 hours of sleep (I like a good 9 on a normal night), I was in no mood to move from my cozy nest. I grumbled to my mom, angry that even if I wanted to go, it was 8:20 and we needed to leave in 25 minutes. I must have at least an hour to get ready, due to the thick mop on my head. I was not happy. I grumbled some rude remarks and turned over in my bed, angry. About five minutes later I decided my family would be mad at me if I didn't get up, so I stomped down the stairs and slammed the bathroom door on my way to getting ready. I knew that I was having an attitude, but my pride got in the way and I was too tired to let it go.
I sat through the beginning of the worship service, in my self-absorbed state, no where ready to come before God with a heart pure for worship. One of the first songs we sang, was revelation song. This is where I realized that there was a serious lesson I needed to learn that Sunday. Revelation song is one of my favorite songs to sing, so a tiny spark of excitement jumped from my awful mood. On about the third repeat of the chorus, I began to listen to the words, rather than just sing them. For those of you who aren't familiar, the chorus goes like this:
Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty
Who was and is and is to come
With all creation I sing praise to the King of kings
You are my everything and I will adore You
When we sang the last line, is when I first realized my lesson that morning. I am a thinker, and thinkers are struck into the deepest of thought by even the smallest trigger. For me, it was the word "adore." I began to think about my sour attitude and the way I had been acting that morning. I thought about adoration and how the world today adores all the wrong things (something I so often do). I grumbled to get out of bed that morning, what would I have done if I was going to see someone I adored? Say one of my favorite bands, or someone I loved and hadn't seen in a long time, the list could go on. I probably wouldn't have slept all night and would have bounded out of bed to be ready as quickly as possible to meet with them. I scribbled a few questions into my sermon notes:
- What does true adoration mean/look like?
- Do I adore Christ?
- Adoration is fervent and devoted love.
- Devoted love involves my whole heart.
- We are commanded to praise God with our whole hearts.
- Therefore, adoration is an act of praise.
- True praise, requires true adoration.
I head back to Waynesburg today. I could write a novel on all of the things God has taught me so far at Waynesburg, and all of the exciting things I have coming up this year, but I'll save it for another day because I still haven't packed a thing (maybe it's time I learn a lesson on procrastination?). But with this idea of adoration on my mind, that is my prayer for this coming year and for my entire life. I pray that each and every day I become more and more in awe of Christ. That my love for Him continues to deepen, and that I love him fervently with my whole heart. Because that's how He loves me. And it is so very evident in his goodness and grace. Oh, and did I mention He's pretty forgiving?
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