WORSHIP IS LOVE

Here is the essence of what I shared in the assembly yesterday morning:

In a very real sense, it is fair to say that worship is nothing more or less than loving God and being loved by God. Jesus said that the greatest commandment is to love God with all our heart and soul and mind and strength. And John 3:16 says that God so loved the world. We love God and God loved us. John tells us that we love because God first loved us. So worship is the give and take of love.

In fact, the traditional wording of the wedding ceremony includes the words, "With all that I am and all that I have I worship thee." More recently we say, "I honor you." The early English word for worship meant to ascribe worth or honor, and the love and commitment between a husband and wife is truly worship.

Now, every word picture has its limitations, but we are described as the bride of Christ in the New Testament. The Song of Songs (Song of Solomon) provides an intimate, pasisonate description of love between a bride and groom. Many through the years have considered the book to be a metaphorical description of Christ and the church.

Now, two warnings before we proceed:

First, sexual or romantic love is not necessarily the highest love. That's often what we think of between husband and wife. But remember what Jesus said was the highest love? Greater love has no man than this: that he lay down his life for a friend. So the highest expression of love is self-sacrifice, not romance.

Second, I just noticed that WE are the Bride of Christ, not ME. I am a part of that body, but I am not the whole. Our expressions of intimacy are strangely collective expressions, for each of us is part of the whole, the Bride that Jesus loved and gave Himself up for.