“Worship is the submission of all of our nature to God. It is the quickening of the conscience by his holiness; the nourishment of mind with his truth; the purifying of imagination by his beauty; the opening of the heart to his love; the surrender of will to his purpose–all this gathered up in adoration, the most selfless emotion of which our nature is capable.” (Quote by Archbishop William Temple, 1881-1944)
Let me get you ready for worship this morning by means of a short, but true story. There was a song we sang in Sunday School that had the following lyrics.
O be careful little eyes what you see
O be careful little eyes what you see
There’s a Father up above
And He’s looking down in love
So, be careful little eyes what you see
I remember singing this song vividly, like it was yesterday. I had to be 9-10 years old. I was sitting in morning service on the end of the row. In front of me was a man between, I’m guessing, 55-60 years old. His eyes were on what was going on in the service. His eyes were on the worship, the praise, and most of all, the pulpit where the man of God was preaching the word sent from above. Not me! My eyes were looking straight ahead, and I was fixated on the size of the man’s ears who was sitting in front of me. I had not accepted Jesus as my Savior yet, did not do that until I was eleven. Maybe I would have earlier than that age, come to Christ, if only my eyes were not focused on the man’s ears. Maybe I should have just put into practice the words of the song that we probably were still singing in my primary school days. But no! I was distracted! I wasn’t to the point where I would do any research and learn about how the cartilage in our ears and nose continue to grow. And needless to say, I had no exposure to the scientific effect of gravity on ears. I had no exposure to knowledge that would grant me an understanding of how the size of ears are different in the case of men or women. The women do hear more in church though! Just saying! Back to the story! I was just focusing on the man in front of me, looking at his ears and consequently, I was present physically at church, but not mentally alert and not close to being ready to be spiritually enlightened. I missed out on the preached word and the personal praises that filled the sanctuary with voices lifted high and raised to give God the glory He surely deserves!
So as you go off to church today or even if you are still attending virtually. Remember the verse of the children’s song above and see to it that you are seeing what you can get out of service to help you get better; see what specific message that the Lord is specifically sending to YOU for a specific purpose. And after that continue to remember the song and adhere to the admonition, “Be careful little eyes what you see.” My advice, keep your eyes on Jesus! Enjoy worship now! Be blessed!
“ Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Hebrews 12:1-2 NIV)
Still committed to the climb,
Mark L. King