Bare Before God

We had just bought a Nokia phone. It was more expensive than the other options we were looking at. But, we decided on this one because of its wonderful camera. Not very impressive now, but at that time it was. We enjoyed clicking pictures of our beautiful baby, the bird that landed in our balcony, and everything we could find. And we loved the pictures. But if we were being honest, the clarity of the pictures wasn't really outstanding. Well, we were not being honest. How could we be, after having spent a lot of money on it, and making a decision which we thought was right? We continued to 'marvel' at the good pictures our new phone was taking. And if a question began to rise in my mind about the quality of the pictures, I quickly managed to brush it aside.

A couple of days went by before we realized there was a plastic sticker covering the lens of the phone's camera. Seriously? We didn't see it for two full days? Embarrassed, we peeled off the sticker and took a picture. And it was significantly better. No wonder, right?

Thankfully, we were able to enjoy the full potential of the phone's camera within two days. But, do we sometimes try to put on a facade even before God? We pretend that everything is fine, but deep in our hearts, we know we are not. We do our routine prayers, and avoid addressing that area that we don't want God to be involved in. And may be, we are scared to even be honest with ourselves. So, we just keep it in, safely locked away. Is there a sin or hurt, a decision or situation you are trying to hide from God? Good luck with that! First, the most obvious reason: We can't hide anything from God! I mean, he is all-knowing. Definitely that one secret -- or a few secrets -- you are trying to keep is no exception to His limitless knowledge. "Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account." (Hebrews 4:13)

Second, the only one who can actually help is God. "You've messed up again, for the umpteenth time, and it is hard enough for you accept yourself, so you can't expect such a holy God to accept you AGAIN." If that's what you are telling yourself, that is a big lie keeping you from God. We tend to think God wants us to make ourselves clean before coming to Him. The Good News is, He came to us, and He wants to make us clean. Not after we are a little more presentable before Him. Right where we are, mess and all, is where He is willing to come. Like the compassionate father running to his prodigal son, who had wasted all his property, and was probably dressed in filthy clothes and smelling of pig's pods. He even embraced and kissed him. All that mattered to this father was, his son had returned. (Luke 15:20) That's our God! All He wants is for us to go to Him. Cleaning up the mess is His job, not ours. Even if we try hard, we are bound to fail. So, just get honest before Him. "If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:8-9)

We see in the Bible that Jesus was often hard on the Pharisees and the teachers of the law. He even called them white-washed tombs, because they managed to put on a nice outward appearance (Matthew 23:27-29). On the other hand, Jesus was compassionate to those who were aware of their sinful state, like the woman caught in adultery (John 8:1-11), the 'sinful' woman (Luke 7:36-50), the paralyzed man who had sinned (Luke 5:17-20), and Zacchaeus, the tax collector (Luke 19:1-10). Not only was He merciful to those who did not pretend to be perfect, but He also redeemed and restored them.

Sins and struggles, doubts and questions, fears and worries, too small or too big -- let us bring everything to God. He doesn't condemn our honesty. He is waiting to restore every part of our lives, when we come to Him as we are.

Feel Good Worship

 "The worship at church was so good today. I felt the Presence of God." 

If you are a church-goer, you've probably heard that statement or something like that. Depending on the kind of church you go to, this could even be a common post-service discussion. Or it's quite likely that you have said it yourself. I know that feeling. There are days when a song's lyrics are particularly meaningful to me, and days when I feel God close to me as I sing to Him. I am so grateful that God chooses to reveal Himself to us in ways we understand. But, there are other days when I don't "feel the Presence of God". Who is to be blamed? The worship leader didn't do a good job? Or, was I too distracted to tune into God? Well, God has promised to be with us (Deuteronomy 31:6). So, by faith, I know God is with me, whether I feel it or not.

That makes me wonder if that is even a good way to assess a worship service. What if worship is not about me feeling good? What if worship is our privilege to express our adoration to the great Creator and Savior? If we pause and realize that the object of our worship is God, I think we will be asking God to rate our worship, instead of us doing it. Inspiring music, stimulating moves, and an electric audience may be enough to impress people and draw a crowd, but God is more pleased with how true we are in our worship. (John 4:24) As the lyrics of a famous worship song goes: "You're looking into my heart". We can put up a perfect worship pose for the people around us, but God doesn't even approve if the posture of our heart doesn't match that. 

We don't want to be the ones whom God will look at and say:

"These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far away from me. Their worship of me is based on merely human rules they have been taught." (Isaiah 29:13)

Besides, worship is not limited to Sunday morning. It is a lifestyle. As Paul writes to the Romans, "Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God -- this is your true and proper worship." (Romans 12:1, 2) 

So, may be our focus as we worship God should be how He feels, not how we feel. And a more appropriate way to evaluate might be asking God, "Are you pleased with my worship, Lord?"