There’s a popular
Christian song that we sing at church from time to time. They play it on the radio a lot, too…well, on
Christian radio, that is. It’s called “I
Can Only Imagine”, and it’s a song that describes the range of emotions that
people might experience when they come face-to-face with Jesus. The chorus:
“Surrounded by Your
glory, what will my heart feel, Will I dance for You, Jesus or in awe of you be
still?
Will I stand in Your presence or to my knees will I fall?, Will I sing hallelujah? Will I be able to speak at all?
Will I stand in Your presence or to my knees will I fall?, Will I sing hallelujah? Will I be able to speak at all?
I can only imagine”
It’s a difference of emotions we see in church on Sunday mornings, too. Some people wear their “Sunday best” and some people come in jeans. Some people raise their hands in song and some people keep them in their pockets and sway to the music…maybe tap a foot in rhythm. Some shout “Amen” at meaningful points in a song…while some are silently crying at that same moment. Some approach God’s throne with boldness like Hebrews 4:16, while some feel like Job “Indeed, I am completely unworthy – how could I reply to you? I put my hand over my mouth to silence myself.” (Job 40:4) Some people are like David in 2 Samuel “I will celebrate before the Lord. I will become even more undignified than this, and I will be humiliated in my own eyes.” while others are Habakkuk 2:20 “The LORD is in his holy temple; let all the earth be silent before him.” And while some people take an Ecclesiastes 5:2 view of approaching God in worship, “God is in heaven and you are on earth, so let your words be few,” others are like Moses and Miriam and the Israelites after crossing the Red Sea safely and you feel like singing and dancing and playing tambourines to praise God (Genesis 15:1&20).
And why did I tell you all of that? Obviously it was so that I could tell you a
story from Lethal Weapon 4.
The end of Lethal
Weapon 4 – Mel Gibson wants to marry Renee Russo, but feels bad because he
feels like he’s replacing his dead wife “Amanda” (that’s been dead since before
the first movie). So Mel’s at the
gravesite talking it over with her headstone.
Joe Pesci comes along and tells him about a frog that he had growing
up…one of his only friends was this pet frog “Froggy”, and that now, all these
years, later Mel Gibson and Danny Glover are his new friends. (Although they’ve made jokes at his expense
and abused him whenever they’ve gotten a chance.) But Joe Pesci makes the point to Mel that he
and Danny Glover weren’t better
friends than Froggy – they were just different.
And Mel realizes that it’s ok to go ahead and marry his new
girlfriend…because by marrying Rene Russo, he’s not saying she’s better than his dead wife…just different. Joe Pesci’s exact line, “You’re not better
friends than froggy. You’re just
different, and eh, I just thought that maybe that might be relevant.”
And why did I tell you all of that? So that I could point out that like David
wasn’t better than Habakkuk or like Moses dancing beside the Sea wasn’t better
than Job who wanted to put his hand over his mouth, the guy wearing jeans isn’t
any better or worse than the guy in the $500 suit. The people that sit quietly aren’t any better
or worse than those that want to shout “Hallelujah” during songs or “Amen”
during a sermon. How you approach God on
His throne is between you and God, and only
you and God. If you feel like you
worship best dressed to the nines and silent before the Lord, and that your
behavior and your clothes are to show God the utmost respect by offering your
best, then your conscience will be clear before God. If you feel that God is open and accepting
and looks at the heart and not the clothes, and you’re so excited about a
chance to worship that you want to clap, then your conscience is clean before
God. So long as you’re doing it for God.
And when face-to-face with Jesus will you be overwhelmed with joy for
your Salvation, or overwhelmed with guilt because it was your sin that helped
keep Him nailed to that cross? Because
if you think you’re too enlightened about it all to feel a little guilty then you’re
missing something. Because even the
Apostle Paul for all the great things he did for the church after his
conversion is every bit as responsible for the death of Jesus Christ as I am. And what did he tell Timothy? “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the
worst.” And follows that right up
with, “But for that very reason I was
shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his
immense patience as an example for those who would believe in him and receive
eternal life.” It’s the duality of
man if you can wrap your head around that.
Joy and guilt at the same time?
Hard to do both at the same time, but it’s the position we’re in. And we usually pick one or the other. Rejoicing for my Salvation and ashamed that
it was because of me that Jesus died.
Which one wins, when we see Him face-to-face? Which one wins when we stand surrounded by
His presence at church?
God accepts only our best, and you’re the judge of what
your best really is. And your conscience
knows if you’re doing whatever you do in order to offer your best to God or if
you’re doing it just to be seen by those around you. Like Cane’s offering was deemed unworthy, and
Able’s worthy, only God can judge your worship.
That’s not to say that ONLY God will judge your worship…let’s not kid
ourselves here. Everyone around you is
likely to judge (in their hearts) if you mean it or are doing it to be seen. But only God can truly judge your worship and
deem it as acceptable or unacceptable to Him.
But just because your worship is different than someone else’s doesn’t
mean your worship is any better than
someone else’s. Dressed in your best
suit and remaining silent before the Lord doesn’t make you more respectful of
God than David who danced with excitement in his underwear rejoicing. Wearing jeans, and clapping with the songs
doesn’t make you more enlightened about God’s acceptance of us as humans than
Habakkuk when he said all the world should keep silent before Him. Whichever you feel is giving your best to God
is what God expects from you. And if
it’s different from someone else’s doesn’t make it better or worse. It just means that it’s just different…and
eh, I just thought that maybe that might be relevant.
~Dwayne
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