Topic: Why Worship? A reflection on Hebrews 12:28
Contributor: Aaron Lee
Date: March 2005

Someone once said that there is only one thing that we do on earth that we will also do when in heaven - and that is to worship God. Worship of our almighty God is we were created for, and it is our high calling.

This week I was reflecting on Hebrews 12:28 - "Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe."

According to this verse, why do we worship? I think it is because God's kingdom, which we will inherit, is one that cannot be shaken. It is founded upon the very person of the One who created us - in His majesty, His infinite power, His holiness, His love for us - all of these attributes, plus those things about Him that are beyond our comprehension.

Hebrews 12:28 also says that our proper attitude is therefore one of thankfulness, of gratitude. There is an author who wrote that "worship is the only gift that we can bring to God that He has not first given to us". God Himself gave us the capacity to worship Him, but our acts of worship in offering our lives to Him - these are our gifts to Him.

The third part of the verse talks about how we can worship God acceptably. As I reflected on it, I recalled many occasions when I have gone through a worship service mouthing the words to the songs, barely listening to the message, and bowing no more than my head at prayer, only to leave church feeling no closeness with God. The problem I realise, wasn't with the songs, the message, or the prayers - the problem was that on those occasions they had not become my own expression of worship.

And so I discovered that worship is about the priority of God in my heart and in my life. This is the only kind of worship that is acceptable to the Lord. And this is the worship that will nurture and nourish my faith through all the "ups and downs" of this life until the day that I see Jesus face to face.

My Final reflection on this verse is that it is easy to praise the Lord from the heights of His love, but it is rich to worship Him from the depths of His love. It is easy to be thankful when it seems as if He has been showering you with blessing after blessing. But it is much more difficult but more meaningful to surrender yourself to His love when you are in challenging circumstances.

And so, if you are presently in a time of testing or trial, may I encourage you today to just stop and worship the Lord. Find comfort in His word and in obeying Him. He is in control of all things. Remember that He loves you with all His heart, and He desires that you love Him with all your heart. And I believe that as we worship Him in reverence and awe, in spirit and in truth, we will find ourselves drinking of His mercy even as He continues to mould us to Himself.

Let me end by sharing a few words from the evangelist Dr. Rob Frost:

"Worship is the opportunity for busy people to touch the eternal, for sinners to glimpse the holy, for broken people to be enfolded in God's perfect love. Worship is moving beyond our self-centered lives to meet the one who created us for something better."

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