I say the word 'worship' very tentatively because what we all mean when we use this term is... church music. I'm not of course saying that church music isn't an expression of worship; just the same as I wouldn't be saying that a love song isn't an expression of love. However, if we reduce the meaning of both these terms down to this particular cultural expression, or in the Christian case, a cultural phenomenon, we miss the point entirely. Our music is just a shadow; a reflection of what worship and love really is, means and inspires us to do.
Have you ever noticed how much of our 'worship' is about getting God to do stuff? Countless songs asking Him to fall, draw near, move, pour out His Spirit, have mercy, pour out His power etc., are sung in our meetings every week. Very little, if anything at all, actually happens when we ask these kinds of things... at least in the tangible sense. Why? Could it be we are actually asking God to do what He has in fact, already done?
"Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God - this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind."
Romans 12:1-3
Paul's exhortation is for us to offer our whole lives to God, but it is in response to something, in view of something very, very important. The grace and mercy of God in Christ is our point of difference. It is our gospel. It is our salvation. It is our hope in glory. A paraphrase of this verse might be, live your life with the grace and mercy of God always in view. In other words, everything we do (and sing) is meant to be done in response to the grace and mercy of God that has already been given in Christ.
What we have done, is shifted the focus of what has already been given and have focused instead on 'our' offering... 'our' sacrifice of praise... 'our' passion. We sing about how we are going to do this and that, we sing about our response, and too often forget to keep the grace of God in Christ in view. Paul doesn't ask us: In view of your offering that is holy and pleasing to God, cry out for mercy.
If we kept Christ in view, we would remember that everything has already been given and that the Cross was in fact a finished work that cannot be added to in any way. We work ourselves up into a frenzy asking God to do things he did 2000 years ago and feel like failures when nothing happens. If I kept asking you to do something you have already done, how would that make you feel? It would make me feel like you didn't even notice what I did, or at the very least appreciate it. Did God not do the Cross properly? Was it not how we would have done it if it were up to us? If all these questions seem ridiculous and stupid it's because they are and so are the lyrics in some of our worship songs. All this proves is that we currently have a serious deficiency in what we believe about grace of God in Christ.
Paul exhorts us to no longer be conformed to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Transformation comes by thinking differently. What is our task? To keep the grace and mercy of God in Christ... in view. What ever happens next is worship. Our response to His grace is worship. Whether we are singing, or taking our spouse out to dinner... it's still worship. We could be at church, work, home or at the beach and with Christ in view, we are living in response to His mercy. Our spiritual act of worship.
Would our meetings be different if we started from a place of celebrating the fact that it's finished and everything has been given to us in Christ already. Maybe they would be a success right from the very start? Would we need to review how they went, if it was a good service or not? I'm struggling to work out how it could be better if we truly lived with the implications of the Cross in view.