There are a number of reasons people attend church. If we were brought up attending church, we may feel the need to sit in a pew on Sunday out of habit, or we may attend services possibly from the expectation of others. Hopefully, our genuine need to worship God is part of our motivation. As we mature in our faith, we come to understand through the scriptures why He has us assemble, and how we should do it. God doesn’t need our worship to survive or exist, but He does require it, and thankfully has shown us how He would like for us to serve Him. In His wisdom, we find that He has given us a gift, and we benefit from it as we meet together to worship.
Many of the directions we have from God have more than one meaning or purpose and as we dig deeper in His word, we see how complex He is and how simple He makes things for us. Isaiah 55:8 says, “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,” declares Yahweh. Thankfully, God knows our needs and gives us scripture we can easily understand.
An example of this is singing. It is one of the most beautiful ways to worship God and it is done together with others around us. So many things are happening during song worship. Besides praising God, we encourage others with the words we sing and are encouraged by others as they sing with us. We bond with others worshipping the same God, knowing we have this in common. We learn together and encourage one another’s growth. We understand it is more than just the sound and melodies that matter.
How amazing is it that we have scripture showing us what this is all about? In Colossians 3:16-17 Paul writes “Let the word of Christ dwell richly among you, in all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another through psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. And whatever you do, in word or in deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.” This passage helps us see that to God, singing is more than sounds, melody, and music. We too need to appreciate the entirety of our song worship and must love the voice next to us whether it is in tune or not. We see the genuine purity of love as those around us give their heartfelt praise to God.
If we pay attention, we will see all that is going on as we lift our voices to the Lord in song. But to properly value and see all of this, we must actually be doing it, we must actually sing. This is not a job that can be done for us but must be done by us. We must listen to those around us but not just to hear, but so we can join them and sing with them. We can’t just feel, we must also act. This is a direction we get from the Lord, and it isn’t a suggestion. And of course, don’t we want to have our praise lifted up as a sweet-smelling fragrance to Him? Don’t we want to honor Him?
When we step back and look at the whole plan God has put into place for us from the very beginning, we see how much He loves us. Salvation is a big deal. Praising God is a big deal. He views this as sacrifice as we see in Hebrews 13:15 which is part of our faith. Praising Him in song is a requirement that we should be willing to give wholeheartedly. When Jesus said in Matthew 22:37 “love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind” we need to remember that the word “love” used in this verse, in the original Greek text is an active doing for God, not just a feeling for or about Him.
It is important that we understand what our creator expects of us. We need to actively participate in our singing and have real meaning in our praise to Him.
So, the next time you are singing in your worship service, let your song be generous. Let it be full of thanks because He blesses us abundantly as we see in James 1:17, “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” Use your voice to show gratitude to Him for everything He does for you, and encourage those around you to do the same as you praise Him together in song.
Jeff S. Mullen
Minister
Blanco Hills Church of Christ
Worship: Sunday 11 am
Class: Sunday 10 am, Wednesday 3:30 pm
blancohillschurch.com
830-554-0701