He said to his servants, "Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you."
Genesis 22:5 NIV
God tested Abraham. He was called to sacrifice his only son, Isaac. He had finished his three plus day journey to the mountain, and now he tells his servants to stay behind, because he and Isaac were going to worship.
(Please let me say in advance that I am not trying to be funny or irreverent here.)
I suppose that Abraham and Isaac went up to the mountain, said a couple of prayers, sang three songs and the doxology, took up an offering, listened to a sermon, gave an invitation, and then went home. After all, he said he was going to worship! Isn't that what we call worship?
As I read today's verse, I understand more than ever that worship is not a single event that we can do in an hour. Oh, that is a part of worship, an important part. But, worship is so much more. Abraham was going to the mountain to worship, because he was going to be obedient to his God. He was giving his God first place in his life. That is real worship.
Worship, in its truest sense, is ascribing worth. We do that not only by what we do, but also by who we are. We worship by offering ourselves completely to our God. We worship when we put him ahead of everything else in our life.
God is looking for that kind of worship from you and me today!
For more of my thoughts, check out my personal blog at
http://www.ronedmondson.com where I write on issues such as marriage, parenting, church and leadership.
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