Monday, November 08, 2004
PASSION: Internal vs External Worship?
I've been pondering this topic for a while...it's one that I find both interesting and frustrating.
As someone who is on stage, helping to lead worship, it can be frustrating to see what seems to be a "non-responsive" church - a church showing minimal "external" evidences of worship - ie raised hands, etc.
I know that it's not about seeing those things, as it's not the external appearance, it's all about the heart and connecting with God and as such, assumptions should not be made on the outward appearance...
But, the act of God sending Jesus, His Son, to die for us on the cross, was an EXTREMELY external, visible, act of worship. The passion that consumed Jesus, was evident to all, not just to those close to him. God wants us to worship Him passionately - with our whole lives - allowing our passionate love for Him to consume us, just as it consumed Him.
Lately, the example of David dancing when the Ark of the Covenant came back to Jerusalem has been at the front of my mind. David's worship at that time is a true example of passionate, external worship. Would his worship at that time still be spoken about if he'd "internallised" his worship? If he'd just stood there and gone "yay" - even though his spirit might be screaming inside?
If you truly love someone, don't you express it externally? Don't you go out of your way, out of your comfort zone, to please them? What would happen in a relationship if you only expressed how you were feeling inside your own head?
Just my thoughts at this moment in time...
