Do I Want to Worship God?

I just finished up an activity I haven’t participated in for awhile. I helped coach a boy’s "junior-pro" basketball team (grades 5, 6, 7) in our community these past few months, and we recently finished the season. I am thankful I was asked to help and greatly enjoyed helping, but don’t know why I was asked to help! Except maybe to make the other two coaches (both wonderful Christian brothers) look good! The season reminded me people get very excited about basketball! Not pro’s like Lebron James or Kevin Durant or Seth Curry, etc. No, they get very excited about watching "junior-pro" players, and even younger boys and girls! Moms and dads, grandmas and grandpas, brothers and sisters, aunts and uncles and family friends showed up in droves to sit on crowded bleachers! On hard seats! For an hour or 2, even three! Whooping and hollering and dishing out encouragement! These people find time on a Friday evening or Saturday to come to a gym in winter-time weather. And pay money to get in! They take time out of busy schedules and other activities (including rest time) to come. They enjoy it more, of course, if their child or favorite players or teams win. But the point is they come because they want to be there. They have great interest in others who are there, and are excited about being there.They enthusaistically engage in the game. It was exciting and enjoyable to be involved, even in the little part I played. I hope to do it again!

Now allow me, please, to switch to a different and much more important gear. Consider a series of questions (and answer them if you dare). Why do people come (or not come) to worship assemblies? And what determines the level of engagement and participation for those who do come? The pews are (usually) padded and soft. The church building is clean and heated in winter, air-conditioned in summer. The Bible class seldom goes over about 40 minutes and the worship service about an hour or so. And hopefully there is no "competition" or "adversarial" atmosphere. What is the real key to whether or not people invest some time, energy, and money to come and get involved in worship? Why do some get all-in and not only attend but enthusiastically engage in all the avenues of worship (singing, the Lord’s Supper, preaching, praying, and giving of money)? Why do some who are just as busy as anybody else carve out time to prepare to teach a class or be involved in helping in other ministry areas? Why do some return to every service while others who could are content to get by on a single hour of worship with the church each week? I don’t mean to over-simplify and I don’t have an "axe to grind." But I can’t help but conclude that some people just love and are more focused on God than others. Like the apostle John in Revelation chapter 4, they "see" (metaphorically speaking now) "a door standing open in heaven" and they "hear" [God’s] voice calling them to "come up here" and engage in worship to the God John describes as "Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty ... Him who lives forever and ever" (verses 8, 10). Who wouldn’t want to be in heaven to worship Almighty God? But wait - if I want to worship Him there in heaven, why wouldn’t I want to worship Him here, any and every time I can? Just asking.

Dan Gulley, Smithville, TN