Day 10: The Heart of Worship
To me, the act of surrender is a way of expressing humility. We should all be humble, recognizing that none of us are perfect and we are all working to better ourselves and our world together. If surrendering oneself to God is the way for some people to achieve this level of humility, then I believe it is for the better.
I think there are a number of seeming contradictions in this sermon on which I would eventually like to get some clarification. One specifically that comes to mind is the juxtaposition of two statements: "God does not want robots to serve him," yet "Surrender is best demonstrated in obedience. You say 'yes, Lord' to whatever he asks of you." How do these statements work together to for one logical or understandable train of thought?
Regardless of our different starting points, I think Rick's overall message here, to put aside our fears, to forfeit our pride and to seek understanding above confusion, is a very positive and supportable one.
If I understand Rick correctly, surrender in the Christian sense means living for God out of love, not out of fear or duty. Surrender means following God's direction because one wants to, not because one has to or should. Surrender makes sense as starting point for worship, because with love one would naturally want to bring pleasure to God, which was defined as "worship" back in chapter 8.
Like many others before this one, the question is hard to answer for a non-Christian. But I have better answer if I rephrase the question as, "What am I not giving up for the greater good?" And that answer is "gluttony". Eating is one of the most difficult aspects of my life to control, although I don't always do it with pleasure.
One way I've rationalized this in the past is that if I don't eat the food, it will go to waste. What's better? Throwing food into the trash, or eating it myself? What's best is giving the food to people who need it as they transition from one phase of their lives into the next. But how?
I think there are a number of seeming contradictions in this sermon on which I would eventually like to get some clarification. One specifically that comes to mind is the juxtaposition of two statements: "God does not want robots to serve him," yet "Surrender is best demonstrated in obedience. You say 'yes, Lord' to whatever he asks of you." How do these statements work together to for one logical or understandable train of thought?
Regardless of our different starting points, I think Rick's overall message here, to put aside our fears, to forfeit our pride and to seek understanding above confusion, is a very positive and supportable one.
Point to Ponder: The heart of worship is surrender.
If I understand Rick correctly, surrender in the Christian sense means living for God out of love, not out of fear or duty. Surrender means following God's direction because one wants to, not because one has to or should. Surrender makes sense as starting point for worship, because with love one would naturally want to bring pleasure to God, which was defined as "worship" back in chapter 8.
Question to Consider: What area of my life am I holding back from God?
Like many others before this one, the question is hard to answer for a non-Christian. But I have better answer if I rephrase the question as, "What am I not giving up for the greater good?" And that answer is "gluttony". Eating is one of the most difficult aspects of my life to control, although I don't always do it with pleasure.
One way I've rationalized this in the past is that if I don't eat the food, it will go to waste. What's better? Throwing food into the trash, or eating it myself? What's best is giving the food to people who need it as they transition from one phase of their lives into the next. But how?