Worship is more than just the singing of songs on Sunday morning. It is an encounter with the living God through an essential spiritual discipline of the Christian life. Too often we have demoted worship to a purely emotional outburst, but it is so much more than that. While it is certainly a practice that is tethered heavily to the emotions, it is also a discipline that God uses to shape us further into the image of Christ.
Worship is a concept that is intricately connected to beauty. In fact, worship happens when we recognize something as beautiful and then respond to it. This is what happens with God, who is the perfect source of beauty.
Creation itself cries out to proclaim God’s beauty (Psalm 19:1-2), and thus calls us to worship. Because of the Fall, however, our worship often stops there. We see a beautiful sunset or work of art and respond by essentially worshiping those things. True worship is cheapened as God’s rightful place in our hearts is snuffed out by trivial pursuits. There is beauty in this world – the mountains, a perfectly executed football play, a well-crafted poem, a stunning spouse on date night, or a unique musical piece – but these things are always intended to be enjoyed and appreciated as they point us to something greater than themselves: our beautiful God.
Once we have understood the connection between worship and beauty, we can begin to see how God uses worship as a means of growth in our lives. When we see God as beautiful, which is the essence of worship, we are drawn into a deeper love and appreciation for who He is. This is ultimately how we become more like Christ: we see God. 1 John 2:3 explains that one day “we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him as He is.” The path to being like Christ is the path of sight. Through seeing God’s beauty, we are made like Him. This is precisely why worship is so important. It forces us to look at God and dwell on His beauty, as we see Him for who He truly is.
Worship is not just an emotional add-on to our theological study, it is an essential discipline of the Christian life that will mold us into the image of Christ. We cannot skip out on worship. We must treat it with the utmost importance, just as we speak about the reading of Scripture or prayer or the sacraments. God longs for us to worship Him, for He is a jealous God (Exodus 34:14). Jesus reminds us of the importance of worship when He tells the Samaritan woman that “the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship Him” (John 4:23). God is seeking out worshipers – true worshipers – who will recognize the truth of His beauty and praise Him.
Luis Poletti