{This is a guest post I wrote for the Compassion UK Blog – have you checked out their excellent blog site yet? There’s a link at the end of this post}
“Imagine the scene… You’re at a large Christian gathering. Someone has just preached a powerful sermon. The musicians begin a song. Soon everyone in the room is singing at the top of their voices with passion and authenticity. God feels very present to everyone there, like heaven is touching earth.
But step back from that scene and ask the question “what is God actually thinking and feeling at that moment?
(Disclaimer: I don’t mean this to come across anthropomorphically…God does have emotions, thoughts and desires – Scripture makes this clear. And when I say ’at this moment’ I know He dwells outside of time. But I think the whole question is still a valid and important one.)
So what is God thinking and feeling right then during that epic worship service? There are times when great moments like these are genuinely God-filled and God-glorifying. But the Bible makes it clear that not all our ‘highs’ are shared by God. Sometimes we can think we are blessing him and having a mountain top experience, whenin reality He is seeking something else – something that we have forgotten.
It reminds me of years ago when I was really ill with flu. I’d called a friend and asked if she could help me by picking up my antibiotics from the chemist and bringing them to my house. She’d said yes and arrived at the house later to drop it off. Only unfotunately she hadn’t remembered the medicine.
She had, however, brought a lovely ‘Get Well Soon’ card that played music. She walked into my room singing along to the musical card, telling me how much she cared about me and that she hoped it would make me feel better. Then, after a few minutes, she had to go. So she sang again, made me laugh and then left.
But she never brought the medicine.
While she was sitting beside my bed, making me laugh and dancing around, shethought she was doing exactly what I wanted, yet she was unaware how much I needed those antibiotics and that when not accompanied by the medicine, all the singing and dancing in the world wasn’t going to help me much.
It reminds me of what God says in Amos 5.21-24:
“The Lord says, “I hate and reject your feasts; I cannot stand your religious meetings. If you offer me burnt offerings and grain offerings, I won’t accept them. You bring your best fellowship offerings of fattened cattle, but I will ignore them. Take the noise of your songs away from me! I won’t listen to the music of your harps. But let justice flow like a river and let goodness flow like a never-ending stream”
If we bring God our songs, music and meetings, these may be great things. But unless they are accompanied by a lifestyle of justice and mercy, they don’t bless his heart much. My friend’s card, singing, dancing and general kindess didn’t really touch me much as I desperately needed those antibiotics. She thought she’d made me happy and provided what I needed.
Obviously it’s a very basic illustration and is in no way truly comparable to God. But in some, small, similar way, our events, gatherings and songs touch God’s heart, yet if they are not accompanied by a lifestyle of justice and mercy, they fail to really bring him joy.
It’s a needed wake up call for us all. We may be out of touch. It’s important that the Bible rather than just our emotions, reminds us about what God actually wants from us. The kind of worship He is seeking is more than joyful music or inspiring meetings. It’s reaching out to the poor and needy, bringing them the justice and help that they are crying out for…….”
(For the continuation of this post, pop over to the Compassion UK Blog by clicking here)
Questions for you to consider:
- What do you think of the Amos 5 passage; is that easy or hard to hear? Share your responses in the comments section below.
- How do you incorporate acts of justice and mercy into your life? Any suggestions we can all learn from?
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