It May Cost You

Austin, my youngest brother, had just arrived home at 4:30 a.m., as usual, following his 12-hour shift as the lead man on a printing press. He hadn’t gotten very far in the door when four-year-old Elijah popped out of his bedroom to greet him. Elijah often takes advantage of the pre-dawn hours to have Dad all to himself, before the rest of the family awakens.

This morning the two wrestled around as usual. They were quite the pair, athletically built Austin standing over six feet three inches tall, sporting a shaved head, and little, wiry Elijah, still in his pajamas, with his dancing brown eyes and bed-head hair. As they sat down to eat breakfast together Elijah looked up into his father’s sky blue eyes and said, “Dad, when I grow up I want to be just like you.”

One definition of worship is “adoring reverence or regard.” In that sense, Elijah worships my brother. And why wouldn’t he? Austin loves God with all His heart and it shows in the way he treats others. He is a wonderful dad and husband who spends quality time with his family. He can build or fix about anything. Last summer he created a background playground that makes most parks look boring. He’s generous with his time, money, and friendship. He and his wife are constantly helping someone in need. Austin sees the best in everyone. He’s the kind of guy who shows genuine interest in the people the rest of us would like to ignore. He’s a great role model for his son.
Yet, Elijah doesn’t simply voice these words of adoration to his dad. That would get tiresome. He shows his affection in other ways as well. He makes things for him. He tries to do things for him. He imitates him. Most of all, he tries to be with him at all costs, even if it means waking up at 4:30 in the morning.
Though our Heavenly Father may not get annoyed with our worship routines, imagine the joy we could bring Him if we were more creative at times, especially in our church services. In the Old Testament worship was exciting. David longed to be in the temple. He worshiped with incense, poetry, song, even dance, and played musical instruments too numerous to mention by name. Even the very structure of the temple was designed as a means of worship. It’s exciting to see some of our churches beginning to return to that format.
How about you personally? For too many of us, our relationship with God has grown predictable. We take Him for granted. What if we got a little creative with our worship? Throughout the Old Testament worship often involved a sacrifice. Although I may mouth the words on Sunday morning, what am I willing to sacrifice? In the New Testament Paul and Silas worshiped at the price of their freedom. Would I be willing to wake up at 4:30 in the morning to spend some time with my Heavenly Father, just the two of us?

Andrea Johnson,
Managing Editor,
Message of the Open Bible