The word “worship” first appears in the
Bible in Gen. 22:5.
He (Abraham) said to his servants,
"Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We
will worship and then we will come back
to you." Gen 22:5
Abraham was going to sacrifice his only
son who was the total sum of all the promises from God. He
called it “worship” For him worship
meant “total giving”.
In Bible there is another reference for
worship.
“The devil led him up to a high place
and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world.
And he said to him, "I will give
you all their authority and splendor, for it has been given to me,
and I can give it to anyone I want to.
So if you worship me, it will all be yours." Lk. 4:4-7
Here worship meant ‘receiving’ (power,
influence, money, position, wealth, reputation, fame etc)
There are two categories of people who
go to worship God. People may differ from country to country or from religion
to religion in their way of worship, rituals, language, place and mode of
worship. But the
intention is the same. Beloved
brother/sister, even a dearly loved child must not rob our love for God.
Abraham worshipped God with open hands and made himself available to God and
God treated him with dignity. When Abraham laid Isaac on the altar he had
abandoned his promised future into God’s hands. We learn from Abraham’s test,
how much obedience costs. Worship changed Abraham. It should change us as well.
What do I aim at worshiping God? Receiving something from him or
sacrificing/emptying myself into His hands?
