The Heart of Worship
Our Lord Jesus made this pronouncement in John 4:24—“God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.” This is Christ’s definition of true worship. And he makes the statement twice for emphasis.
I wonder if we see the implications. Real worship transcends all the outward forms. Liturgy, sacrament, and tradition have their place, but real worship must become more than that. Something must happen deep in the human spirit, in the heart. It is there that the Holy Spirit gives us vision to see the invisible God.
This is what we need in the present hour. People are struggling. Many feel uncertain and fearful. How many lives will the current pandemic sicken and kill? When will a vaccine be found? What are the long-term implications for health
care, for public education, for local government, for business and employment, and for our churches? No one truly knows.
The wider picture is also sobering. Will the traditional norms of society and culture be replaced? More and more, the world turns to science and technology for breakthrough solutions. But can the “brave new world” on the high-tech horizon save us? Certainly not! Without God at the center of life, these things will destroy us.
A new perspective is required. The gospel light of Christ must penetrate the secular darkness outside our church buildings. Those who seek for an unknown Someone must first see something in us who are the people of God. Do those without the Christian hope sense that we have something real? Do they see in our words and actions the God who has answers to the deepest questions?
The true and living God is what the human heart craves. And he makes himself known where he is worshiped “in the Spirit and in truth.” The Christ of the New Testament gospels is that ultimate Truth, the final Reality. Real worship makes all the truth of Christ come alive.