Alive - to worship

This weekend we went to the Alive festival in Canal Fulton. Kirsten and I have gone the last 5 years and this year was the best one yet. I'm not sure that the speakers we're any better than any other year. I can't even really say that there were more bands there this year that I "really" wanted to see. I think the difference this year was me. You see, sometimes people talk about how they can feel God moving in their lives and sometime they can't. Personally I don't think that God ever stops moving in our lives - I think sometimes we just don't choose to see it that way. There's nothing wrong with going to a christian music festival for the sole purpose of entertaining yourself for a weekend. You can sing along, clap your hands - even jump and dance around to the music without really worshipping or letting God have any real estate in your head. This year was different for me, it's not that I haven't been growing in my faith and this reawakened me - I think I saw something besides cool bands, some goofyChristiann t-shirts and even a few cool ones. I think I saw a glimpse of what heaven may be like. Heavenly Choir Robes? I think even the most devout Christians may think about the prospect of worshipping God for all eternity and think - "I hope I don't get bored." I think when we have that cross our mind we're looking at worship with a very narrow focus. Worship isn't what takes place before the sermon every week at church. Worship isn't something that can be fit into a time slot and expressed just with words to music. Worship is a lifestyle, and just like every lifestyle (yes every) it is a choice. I've been learning a lot about choices in life. Some we get to make for ourselves and some of them God makes for you and your choice can be acceptance and joy, or self-pity and anger. When we choose Joy, which is very different than happiness, we open ourselves up for the opportunity for God to do something more with our lives than would happen on our own. Worship can be lived - giving honor to God in the choices we make, the way we spend our time and the way we look at situations all contribute to the life of a worshipper. It's much bigger than singing songs and clapping to the music. If we limit it to just singing in church, then I'd have to say yes, heaven could be pretty boring. But because worship is bigger than a song, it can be expressed in our lives and our interactions with each other, and how we work. When we find joy in doing something and turn that joy toward God - it's worship. God is big and all the creativity that is shown in the different ways we can worship Him won't stop when we get to heaven. When we die and get to heaven, we probably won't be issued a heavenly choir robe and a harp and take our place in some gigantic choir.

God is trying to call us back to that for which He created us, to worship Him and to enjoy Him forever." - A.W. Tozer

Bigger than we can imagine I love doing design work, but if that was all that I did, if I never took a break from it to read, or spend time learning new techniques or see other people's design I'd probably get pretty bored with design. The difference with God is that, there is no limit in the possibility of who He is. We won't ever "know" God, our lifetime is too short to begin to understand who He is and how He works. But every once in a while we catch a glimpse of just how great He is, and when that happens - your spirit wells up inside you and it's almost like you could burst. I don't know about you but those moments don't just happen when I'm singing, they don't always happen when I'm in church or at a "Christian" function. They happen when I allow myself to be secondary to what God is showing me and choose to worship Him in whatever situation I find myself in. I think the creativity that God has placed in us will continue in eternity. I believe our expression of worship will be as diverse in heaven as it can be here on earth. The things that we find enjoyment in as mortal beings will provide enjoyment that will prompt us to worship as eternal souls in God's presence. Just like His creativity, wisdom and love are limitless, so will be our opportunity to worship in eternity. A whisper in my ear Standing there on that hillside, singing - and yes - even dancing (It was more or less just jumping up and down) I saw a tiny glimpse of heaven, the fun and passion that I felt in the brief seconds when the Holy Spirit whispered "Remember this, and know that there is so much more..." still moves me and leaves me yearning for that. Not to recreate that moment, but to live in that eternity and feel the infinite passionate love and appreciation for who God is. It was awesome to see so many people spending that time worshipping God. It was great to spend the time with Kirsten and our friends Donny and Jennifer. But greater than that, was knowing that we were spending time in the presence of God, fulfilling His purpose in our lives and finding joy in doing just that.