Promises to myself – just don’t get kept. So I rarely give much thought to the whole New Year’s resolution thing. But, in late December of 2012, when mankind seemed bent on resolving things, I got sick. And was in bed. And was bored. And started thinking. (Dangerous, I know.)
This was my facebook post:
“I’ve been sick in bed thinking . . . what will I be like in heaven? That is, after Jesus strips away all sin (worry, discontent, etc.), what will be left? I’m thinking that this year, rather than worry about shedding things that Jesus will take care of, I might try to work on building what I want to be when I get to his kingdom.”
Over the last year I kept thinking about this. Who do I want to be when I arrive God’s kingdom? This one answer kept popping up: a worshiper.
God’s desire for worshipers runs throughout the scriptures. But I’m especially fond of the passage in John 4 in which Jesus reveals Himself to the woman the well.
Jesus told her about God.
In verse 10 Jesus says (loosely translated), “I wish you understood God’s amazing love and the gift He has standing right in front of you.”
Jesus told her about her sin.
Jesus said to her, “You are right in saying, ‘I have no husband’; for you have had five husbands, and the one you now have is not your husband. What you have said is true.”
Jesus told her about Himself.
The woman said to him, “I know that Messiah is coming (he who is called Christ). When he comes, he will tell us all things.” Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am he.”
And in the middle of preaching the gospel to her, Jesus patiently answers her question about where she should worship with how she should worship.
Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him.”
Did you catch that? The Father is seeking true worshipers. Worshipers who, through His Spirit, come to know His truth and allow their spirits to delight and revel in Him. Now that’s who I want to be when I arrive in God’s kingdom – a true worshiper! Both now and for all eternity.
And I’m betting that the woman-at-the-well and a bunch of other Samaritans will be up there with me. Look at their response.
They said to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is indeed the Savior of the world.”
Words of Worship for God 