Worship

This thread goes out to all those who believe in God. Of course, those who don't are also welcome to chime in.

Worship, why do it?

Originally posted by whodey
This thread goes out to all those who believe in God. Of course, those who don't are also welcome to chime in.

Worship, why do it?

You beat me to it there Wadster. To me in my limited understanding, worship would be a mutual love and respect. It would be automatic and be a non issue once relationship is established. The whole getting down on the knees and other rituals seems unnecessary.

Originally posted by joe beyser
You beat me to it there Wadster. To me in my limited understanding, worship would be a mutual love and respect. It would be automatic and be a non issue once relationship is established. The whole getting down on the knees and other rituals seems unnecessary.

Do you really think of it as mutual?
To me the term worship connotes a one sided process - the worshipper is lower on the food chain than the object of worship.

Originally posted by amannion
Do you really think of it as mutual?
To me the term worship connotes a one sided process - the worshipper is lower on the food chain than the object of worship.

Yep

Originally posted by joe beyser
Yep

Great, that's a thoughtful response.
Would you care to elaborate?

When God created man He placed him before a tree called "the tree of life". Man was only to be careful what he ate, what he took into himself as food. God did not instruct Adam how to bow down or prostrate himself, or do any of the things people generally regard as worship. He simply told man to be care about what he ate.

The tree of life signified the life of God Himself. In short the worship that God desires is the man would take into his being the Person and life of God Himself. Man is to "worship" God by receiving God's life. Man is to "worship" God by allowing the Spirit of God to flow into him.

The same picture is seen in the three great feasts instituted by God to the Israelites. Three times a year they were to come to Jerusalem and have a feast. The worship was a feast. This signifies the same matter. The worship that God seeks from man is that man would feast upon God, absorb God, allow God to dispense His Spirit into man to nourish man's being.

In the New Testament you see God incarnate as a man - Jesus the Son of God. He says He is the bread of life, for eating. He says we must eat His flesh and drink His blood. Symbolically this also means we must take Christ into us as food. God is good for food.

Did you eat Jesus today ?

"As the living Father sent Me and I live because of the Father, so he who eats Me shall live because of Me." (John 6:57)

To eat Jesus is to open up your being and let Jesus into your heart. To eat Jesus is to open wide your heart and invite Him into you. This need not be done only once. Daily, we may "eat Jesus". Then we will LIVE because of Jesus and we will LIVE Jesus.

The true worship is to receive Christ the Son of God by eating and drinking spiritually. That is receiving Him, allowing Him to come in and fill our hearts, to absorb the living Christ.

Originally posted by whodey
This thread goes out to all those who believe in God. Of course, those who don't are also welcome to chime in.

Worship, why do it?

There are many reasons why one might want to worship. Just don't pretend it's TRUE.

Originally posted by amannion
Great, that's a thoughtful response.
Would you care to elaborate?

Of course there is a superior/inferior relationship there but it seems contrived to me that love and respect would run one way. It is basically a choice. Either a person can choose God or not. Once the relaionship is established which is one of love and respect then a person is a worshiping son of a gun.

Originally posted by joe beyser
Of course there is a superior/inferior relationship there but it seems contrived to me that love and respect would run one way. It is basically a choice. Either a person can choose God or not. Once the relaionship is established which is one of love and respect then a person is a worshiping son of a gun.

But if God be God, is he not greater? If he is, does this change the mutually loving aspect of the relaionship? For me, I can view myself as I am, which is a lesser being than God, and still enjoy a mutually loving relaionship with him. It is simply acknowledging the reality of the situation rather than ignoring it or denying it. It is like the parable of the Good Samaritan. If someone came along and picked you up and took you home and took care of you and saved your life, would you not so much as say thank you? How much more for someone who not only saved our lives but also was tortured and killed in the process to save us?

Having said that, the sermon I heard today was on worship. It gave me a different perspective on the whole matter. We often see it as a one way type of interaction where only God is blessed. However, throughout the Bible there are examples in which worship empowers us and blesses us. An example, I suppose, is when Paul was in prison and in chains along with his bretheren and they decided to worship God in the midst of it all. Now the average Joe might say, why should I worship God? After all, he let me get into this situation so I really should be angry at God. However, worship is not about us. It is not about our circumstances, rather, it is about knowing who God is and what are hope is in him. If you don't know the story, after they began to worship the chains were removed from their hands and they escaped harm. I have also heard other testimnies of healing when worship was mixed with the praying. Really worship is mixed with faith in that you believe God is worthy to be worshiped no matter your circumstances and we all know God looks for faith that is being exercised. In addition, I found that when in church and such I may not "feel" like worshiping. In fact, I may feel like doing anything but wrorshipping God. However, I have found that as I do, a change comes over me and I begin to commune with God it often energizes me. It even happened today and I was with someone who had never been to my church and said they experienced the same thing and had never experienced that before.

So I ask you, who benefits from worship the most? I say that it is equally beneficial even though one is submitted to the other in doing so.

Originally posted by whodey
But if God be God, is he not greater? If he is, does this change the mutually loving aspect of the relaionship? For me, I can view myself as I am, which is a lesser being than God, and still enjoy a mutually loving relaionship with him. It is simply acknowledging the reality of the situation rather than ignoring it or denying it. It is like the parable of ...[text shortened]... ? I say that it is equally beneficial even though one is submitted to the other in doing so.

A truly superior being would make you feel like an equal. Only a petty being makes sure you recognize the pecking order.

Originally posted by rwingett
There are many reasons why one might want to worship. Just don't pretend it's TRUE.

Fair enough. I suppose one might worship out of fear.

So has God struck you down yet? LOL.

Originally posted by rwingett
A truly superior being would make you feel like an equal. Only a petty being makes sure you recognize the pecking order.

So you are saying that he wants us to believe a lie or are you saying we are God's equal?

Originally posted by whodey
Fair enough. I suppose one might worship out of fear.

So has God struck you down yet? LOL.

Are you incapable of understanding anything I say? One can worship for any number of reasons. As long as you say "I do this because it feels right to me", and not because "I do this because it is the TRUTH", then I have no problem with worship. Just admit that you cannot know what the truth is and I won't care what, or how, you worship.

Originally posted by whodey
So you are saying that he wants us to believe a lie or are you saying we are God's equal?

I'm saying that IF there is a god, he would make us FEEL like an equal. He would make us feel like we had some great contribution to make in his cosmic plan. That he couldn't do it without our help. Not like how it is now where we're just worthless peons who can do nothing right.

Originally posted by rwingett
Are you incapable of understanding anything I say? One can worship for any number of reasons. As long as you say "I do this because it feels right to me", and not because "I do this because it is the TRUTH", then I have no problem with worship. Just admit that you cannot know what the truth is and I won't care what, or how, you worship.

Jesus said he was the way, the truth, and the llfe. I believe this so to say that I don't know the truth would be a lie.