Hey guys, Kassandra here =]
Happy New Year! I’ve been out of the loop for awhile. I got extremely sick, and that put me out of any social anything for weeks, which also meant no church. To be quite honest, I got to the point where I stopped going to church altogether for at least a month (maybe a month and a half).
I started feeling empty even when returned to church. The worship felt forced with me and everyone else in the room. I kept thinking a thought that’s been with me all my years of worship in a structured setting: Is worship meant to be in a structured setting, anyway?
Now, I know what you may be thinking, “There is NOTHING wrong with worshiping with fellow believers! That’s how it’s supposed to be! That’s how it’s going to be in heaven!”
Putting aside the deeper theological ideas that perhaps heaven isn’t anything like we expect it to be based off the Bible (for the Bible seems to most definitely be using metaphors to describe heaven, as it is something that we as humans cannot fully comprehend), you’ve got to realize that heaven is a perfect setting. We are able to worship as one in heaven because we won’t have the shackles that being human put upon us. We won’t be sinful, but rather “perfect” (and I use that word hesitantly) beings that will not have the usual distractions that we have on earth during worship.
How many times have you looked over while “worshiping” to see that no one is very into it? Do you become distraught?
If you were alone in your room, worshiping God Almighty, would you have anyone to look over at? Would you have anyone to cause you distress and, subsequently, distraction?
Now think again: How many times DO you just sit alone in your room and worship God Almighty? I think it would be safe to say that none of us do as often as we should, that’s certain.
While I’m not saying that worship in a church setting is bad, I think it is better to be a thing done alone, between us and God. I think a balance between the two is necessary to become as close to Christ our Lord as we can on this Earth.
With the New Year comes resolutions. I'm not a fan of them, because they end up being a list of rules that remind me of the Pharisees and empty promises/things to follow. Instead of giving yourself rules to go by, make your resolution something real. Try to spend adequate alone time with God not only praying, but worshiping, thanking, loving, praising…today.
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3 comments:
Too true, good insights.
Nice post, I personally think though that New Year's resolutions are a good thing. They are not rules but goals. The difference is a goal is something to work at. A rule is more of a demand that has a good or bad consequences do what a person chooses to do. A rule also takes affect right away and a goal takes time.
As far as Heaven it is beyond are knowing of what Heaven is like completely but because of God's Word we can get a idea of what Heaven is like. Their is no more saddness, everything is perfect, their is no pain, there are pearly gates, and streets of gold. All of this is true and not wrapped up in a metaphor. Also the word perfect is fine when talking about when you get to Heaven because in God's eyes we are blameless because of what Christ did for us.
Last thing is as far as worship I agree it should be done more often at home but it still should be apart of worship at church. The thing is it's a heart condition and something to work at. It takes time but well worth it.
Anyways great post can't wait to see what you post up next.
New Years Resolutions CAN be a good thing, I suppose, but I and everyone I've known have had problems with them. Good point, I guess, we just have differing opinions.
Yes, the Bible does say that there will be streets of gold and pearly gates, but how do you know that it isn't a metaphor? Yes, it will be perfect. Yes, there will be no pain or sadness because those things are part of our earthly lives and reality.
The world beyond what we know is also beyond time and space, which alters our perspective. Taking a theoretical look at it, even incorporating quantum physics and the Bible, we can see that God has a perspective that is not limited by anything on earth such as we have. Once we pass away, our perspectives will likely be unlimited (or less limited, I suppose, for we cannot be like God). Therefore, the way we "see" and "perceive" things will be completely different. We can't use human terms to fully describe something that is beyond what is human. We can only use these terms to be able to somewhat grasp those things.
And yes, I believe I did say that it should be part of church and part of your alone time. Thank you for establishing that for those who may have misinterpreted what I was saying, though.
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