Worship and Adoration

Day one hundred fifty-five

This morning I am hoping to have a great attitude about everything I have to get done.  So my prayer was filled with gratitude for the opportunities I have today and for all the good things the Lord will put in my life.  I also made a request that I would recognize the good things as they come and keep them in my heart.  I am hoping that with a heart filled with gratitude my attitude will always be good!

Deuteronomy 26

Think about the last time you truly adored someone, maybe a spouse, a dear friend or a child. How did you let them know that you adored or truly loved them?  Did you give them a gift that expressed your feelings? or maybe you found it difficult to express your feelings through any material gift? It is difficult to quantify your feelings with an object. There is a reason for that. There is some truth to the statement," You give but little when you give of your possessions.  It is when you give of yourself that you truly give." (Kahlil Gibran).

Today I would like to see how this relates to showing our adoration for God in the way we worship.

Adoration by Giving Back:

When the Israelite came before God, he was to “set it before the Lord thy God, and worship before the Lord thy God” (v 10). He did not come before the Lord with a petition on his lips, but with a present in his hands!

The interesting thing about giving the Lord a gift from the field, the worshiper was really giving the Lord back what the Lord had already given him. In truth, it was costing the worshiper nothing. Everything he gave had its origin with the Lord.

David expressed this thought in 1 Chron. 29:14, “But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able to offer so willingly after this sort? for all things come of thee, and of thine own have we given thee.” They were merely giving back to God the things He had already given to them.

It is a simple concept: We simply take what He has given us and we offer back the first fruits of those things to Him in the form of love, adoration and worship. So, while worship involves sacrifice, in the end, it costs us nothing.

So why would the Lord require a gift of the first fruits if in fact it cost us nothing? Is it to prove our obedience or to show that we are filled with gratitude? What is the worth of a gift if it is merely giving back what has already been given to us?

As with many offerings in the scriptures, there is symbolism involved here.  We need to remember that the things He has given us cost Him everything!  What was the price of His love? What was the cost of His grace? What was the value of your soul and mine? It is summed up for us in the following verses:

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)

“But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8)

It cost God the death of His Son Jesus (His first fruit) on the cross to give us the things we have in Him. The Lord didn't need the Israelites food, what He wanted was for them to love and adore Him, and remember all that He did and will do for them.  He wanted them to remember Him and make Him a part of themselves. The fact that they gave an offering was a symbol of their love for God and for all that God had done in their life.  When we recognize that all we have has come at such a great cost, that fact alone is enough to bring us to our knees in thankful, meaningful worship.   

Just take a minute to ponder the enormity of His love for us.  When we understand even a part of His love for us, the sacrifices we are asked to make seem so little.  True worship leads us to want to give more of our self to the Lord.  That is the spirit of adoration I feel for my Father and for my Savior.  I am in awe of them and the sacrifices they have made for me.  When I sit and think about it, my heart fills with even more love for them.  I think that is the ultimate gift and show of adoration, the willingness to give our lives to the Lord.  Today I will look for ways to show the Lord that I love Him.  How will you show your love for the Lord today?