Worship. With Our Lives – part 1

^{by Rob Krabbe}

Sometimes I make things so very complicated.

I want to make sense out of God.  I want to understand.  I want to grasp Him.  Get Him.  Study theology and have it make perfect sense.  Understand the way it all works.  But then, I open my eyes one moment, and see the simplest smallest thing God has created.  The simplest and smallest evidence of love from a God that owes us nothing, and that we owe everything.  Its usually those moments, and they happen a lot, that I remember once again, that for now, and although knowledge is good, it's just better that I no longer care to understand everything.  For me, knowing myself the way I do, and believe me, I know things about myself that give me at least a fair perspective; I know that I just really need to simplify a bit.  Strip it down.  Boil it down.  Distill my life a little. Clarify.  Accept more on faith, and understanding everything? Well not as much a priority for now.  What is it, "Lean not on [my] own understanding?"

In the spirit of simplicity.  Striking out on more faith and less on my own understanding.  I looked up one of my favorite stories in the scriptures for inspiration in looking at our lives as worship for a blog post today.

^{ACTS 16:22-34}

²² The crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas, and the magistrates ordered them to be stripped and beaten with rods. ²³ After they had been severely flogged, they were thrown into prison, and the jailer was commanded to guard them carefully. ²⁴When he received these orders, he put them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks.

²⁵ About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. ²⁶ Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everyone’s chains came loose. ²⁷ The jailer woke up, and when he saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself because he thought the prisoners had escaped. ²⁸But Paul shouted, “Don’t harm yourself! We are all here!”

²⁹ The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas. ³⁰He then brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”

³¹ They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.” ³² Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house. ³³ At that hour of the night the jailer took them and washed their wounds; then immediately he and all his household were baptized. ³⁴ The jailer brought them into his house and set a meal before them; he was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God—he and his whole household.

 Back to the simplicity thing . . . I'm sure I would have some wise comment, or sage advice, given the way that scripture makes me feel, but I find now, that at this time in my life, when I strip things down, the scripture needs less and less thinking, and more astonishment on my part.  What a great story of faith, and grace, and what a great story of a life of worship.  No judgement.  No "I'm telling you that if you don't believe you'll . . . " just simple worship, hymn singing, from the heart, changing the lives of those who see it's authenticity.

So, enough said.  I'm going to go read the story again, maybe in a couple of translations, and just soak it in.

Sometimes the simple things are more wonderful than I ever imagined, I just need to stop, look and listen, and maybe that's a good start for good worship.