Unworthy to Serve. Unworthy to Worship.

          As I mentioned in a previous post, I recently began reading Francis Chan's Crazy Love and I have been fascinated by it thus far. What I love about Chan's writing is that he presents the gospel from a different perspective. Having grown up in church my whole life, it is refreshing to hear something I've never heard before. It keeps me on my toes, and it keeps me intrigued.          
          This week God has blessed me in truly overwhelming ways, and I felt unworthy. I didn't feel unworthy in an "I've been too bad to deserve this" kind of way, but rather a "Who am I to deserve this?" kind of way. It was in that moment of overwhelming unworthiness and awe of God that I begin to read Chapter Six of Crazy Love. The whole chapter was very powerful and thought-provoking, but there was one part in particular that really stood out to me. It said, "Right now a hundred million angels are praising God's name; He certainly doesn't need to beg or plead with us. We should be the ones begging to worship in His presence." I was amazed at the power and truth in that statement. Many times we consider worship to be something we owe to God. The truth is we don't owe Him anything. He is the creator of all things, the rocks will cry out to Him if we don't. He doesn't need our praise, but He wants it. It is God's desire to see and hear our worship, my worship. He is surrounded by the worship of a hundred million angels right now, but He wants me. Who am I to bow down at His feet? Who am I to even enter into His presence?
          I'm taking an Introduction to New Testament course right now and I learned something the other day that really spoke to my heart about how truly unworthy I am. If you've ever noticed some biblical translations spell Yahweh with no vowels, YHWH. I learned that Jews spelled the name of God like this so that they would not be able to pronounce it. They felt as if they were too unworthy to speak the name of God. Even today, some Jews write the name of God with a dash where the "o" should be. They don't even feel worthy to write it. I am grateful Christ's death and resurrection tore the veil, giving us the ability to have a personal relationship with God. I'm grateful that I am able to speak the name of God and communicate with Him personally. But at the same time it is great to be reminded of how unworthy we truly are. Sometimes we need to be reminded of the reverence of God so that we can truly humble ourselves before Him.

         

"God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands; neither is worshipped with men's hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things."

-Acts 17:24-25

          God doesn't need our service, but He wants it. He doesn't need our worship, but He desires it. And above all else, He is worthy of it. Let us humble ourselves before the Almighty God today and give Him all that He deserves. Let us lift unworthy hands in His presence. Let us reach out unworthy hands to help those in need. The God of this universe loves us beyond our understanding, and He wants to use us. Though we are unworthy, He has a purpose that He wants to fulfill through us.