The Reverence God Deserves

One of the things that distresses me about the world we live in is its profound lack of reverence for God and the things of God. Even more distressing is the lack of reverence for God that is often found in today’s church. When the God of the Bible appeared to Moses at the burning bush, He did not tell Moses, “Hey Moses, go grab a cup of coffee and a donut. I want to talk with you.” No, God told Moses to take off His shoes for he was standing on “holy ground.” What was the response of Moses? “Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look upon God.” When Isaiah saw God high and lifted up in the Temple, Isaiah did not tell God, “Hey, God let me get a cappuccino, I will be right back.” No, Isaiah said, “Woe is me, for I am undone! For my eyes have seen the King, The LORD of hosts.” When John saw a vision of the glorified Lord on the isle of Patmos, he did not say, “Hey, Lord before the show starts let me get a cup of coffee and a cruller.” No, the Bible says that John “fell at His feet as dead.” Just as the American flag is a symbol of our nation and deserves reverence and respect, I think the sanctuary of a church is a symbol of God and His presence and if there is any place in this world that deserves to be respected as “holy ground” today it is the sanctuary of a church. We must remember that the One we are worshiping when we come to church is the Creator God of the universe; He is not our heavenly barista. When we come into the Lord’s presence to worship Him our total focus should be on honoring and glorifying Him. How will our children and how will the lost world around us ever witness a demonstration of the reverence and respect that God is due if the church itself does not show and demonstrate it? I know that the church today needs to be creative in reaching out to the lost world. But, the cost of this creativity must never be to water down the truth of the gospel and it must not mean the sacrifice of giving God the reverence and respect that He deserves, especially when we meet in church to worship Him. See you Sunday, Bro. Chris