Consider the Perspective

Yesterday I spent much of my day in a hospital room in Asheville. I sat in that room waiting on a member of our church to be discharged so I could drive them home. As we sat in that room, I spent much of my time sending emails and texts to stay caught up on my work. My church member spent the time listening to Tennessee Ernie Ford singing hymns on TV and occasionally glancing out the window at the view. When I first walked into the room I noticed the view and took a good long look at it. Off in the distance you could see a beautiful mountain backdrop like you would expect in Asheville. On this day though the rain clouds going by sometimes hid the tops of the mountains but that didn't diminish the beauty of the view.

From my perspective the view was something similar to what I've enjoyed on numerous hiking trips with my boys. I would almost say I took it for granted. From my church member's perspective, I felt it was a glorious revelation of the majesty of God. Listening to those beautiful old hymns that praise and glorify our God, while viewing a beautiful landscape, surely gave that church member a moment of heartfelt worship with God.

Worship of God can be much like our view yesterday. We can sit in church, listen to the same songs and sermon, and yet our perspective can be completely different than someone less than 10 feet from us. From what I've observed in life, you see a picture of newer and experienced Christians in that hospital room yesterday. One of us, like a new Christian, had basically been given a changed heart. To my church member the songs had a new meaning and the view of God's glory took on a whole new perspective. One of us, like a more experienced Christian, saw the same view and heard the same songs, but they had a different meaning. Yes the songs resonated in the heart and the view still revealed the majesty of God. But the context of the person listening and seeing determines the worship experience.

As we develop in our faith, our worship often times takes on a different feel. Do we still want to worship God because of the salvation He's given us? Yes we do. Do we worship in the same style or the same form? Maybe. Maybe not. But the important thing that needs to be consistent, regardless of our perspective is that God is worshiped from our heart. We don't do it to show off. We don't do it because it's expected. We do it because He is God and He alone is worthy of our worship. Regardless of your current perspective on worship, God is still God and we should worship Him as such.

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