Purpose Driven Live 8
I never thought of God as having emotions. The Bible is full of such phrases but I always thought they were just a way of expressing someone being in harmony or out of harmony with God. I suppose if God knows all he certainly can't feel surprise. But maybe I just don't know and should leave it at that.
The author touches on the idea that worship is not synonymous with going to church and then sends a whole lot of time on church as worship.
I disagree with his conclusion that “worship is for the benefit of God”. This implies that God is changed by our worshiping which is not consistent with what little we can know about God.
I had the pleasure years ago of attending a weekly religious class in which a young woman (perhaps 19) said regarding the topic of prayer, “I pray all the time.” Looking at her idealistic face I could believe it. A couple of times it is mentioned that so-and-so “walked with God.” I think that is the potential of worship that the author started to express before getting distracted by church.
What little “walking with God” I have done has brought about a noticeable change in me. Come to think of it, there are hints of joy, peace, patience, kindness, etc. in the experience. I can’t say if God benefits from my worship, but it seems I do.
The author touches on the idea that worship is not synonymous with going to church and then sends a whole lot of time on church as worship.
I disagree with his conclusion that “worship is for the benefit of God”. This implies that God is changed by our worshiping which is not consistent with what little we can know about God.
I had the pleasure years ago of attending a weekly religious class in which a young woman (perhaps 19) said regarding the topic of prayer, “I pray all the time.” Looking at her idealistic face I could believe it. A couple of times it is mentioned that so-and-so “walked with God.” I think that is the potential of worship that the author started to express before getting distracted by church.
What little “walking with God” I have done has brought about a noticeable change in me. Come to think of it, there are hints of joy, peace, patience, kindness, etc. in the experience. I can’t say if God benefits from my worship, but it seems I do.
posted by Mark at 22:02
2 Comments:
Say more about not thinking that God "benefits" from your worship.
As a parent, when my children express appreciation for something I've said or done (a rare experience at their present ages) or when I give thanks to my parents for how they "parented" when I was young, there is, I think, a benefit for the receiver.
Is this struggle related to giving God "human" characteristics or thinking of God as one in a relationship with you, as a parent is in relationship to a child?
a listening dialogue partner
The idea of "pleasing" God means that when I do such and such God changes from less pleased to more pleased. Humm, but God is timeless. God knows the end from the beginning. He is the violinist that knows how the bow has been drawn and where the finger is on the string. So to say that worship "pleases" God is mixing an act in time with a timeless God.
I suppose it is a small point, but I don’t think my worship changes God; it changes me so that I am more like God made me to be. I am fulfilling his will. It is me that does the changing, I am moving closer to God.
At the same time, I don’t want to make God mechanical, something less than human. I think the best wisdom is that we are an image of God the way that a square is the image in two dimensions of a cube. We could then say that what we have as emotions is the image of something that God has but on a whole different plane. One can take that argument pretty far, but I won’t. I will leave it that growing closer to God is a rewarding experience for me.
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