Worship is a Lifestyle

“What are you most looking forward to this weekend?!” This is the question many of us Sunday school kids have heard hopping on the bus for our weekend retreats. Almost every time, the answer I hear kids say is, “Worship!” And every time, I pause and think back to a moment when I was taught the definition of worship. An intern at our church had recently arrived to work with middle school students, teaching them how to play instruments in order to prepare them to lead worship years later.

I was excited to get there and show off my piano skills to the kids who were coming to learn an instrument, many of them not even knowing which key was middle C. I pushed through the back doors of the church and ran inside, music book in hand and pencil shoved behind my ear. But after a few steps into the room, I realized everyone was sitting in a circle around a whiteboard. Inside, I was groaning. Seriously? A white board? I didn’t leave school to come to school. I was confused and disappointed, but I sat and listened as the intern asked for definitions of the word, “worship”. Of course, I knew exactly what it was-- the four songs that are played before every sermon. Or five, if the pastor didn’t prepare his sermon till the week before. I’m totally kidding. But not about the definition part. I seriously would have bet all of my favorite stuffed animals that I was right. I mean I had been told my entire life that the band that walked on stage at 9:37 am was the worship. And now sitting here, in front of this stained white board, I was being told that the truth I was taught since Sunday school was not the full truth. Instead, there is so much more to it.

Worship is the way we, as Christians, should live. I’ve heard it defined often as “declaring greatness or worth to something”. If we claim to follow Christ, every action we take should be honoring him, or declaring worth to him. Would you publicly disrespect your earthly father? No! So why do we publicly sin, disrespecting our heavenly Father? Rather, we do everything we can to show him that we love him. Once I fully understood this comparison, I realized I needed to change the way I live. Knowing that as a human I’m always being viewed by the world and by God should push me to always strive to live like Christ. One of the things that the Lord has placed on my heart that has continued to get heavier over the years is my passion for the lost. What is constantly on the forefront of my mind is seeking out opportunities to share the gospel, weaving in avenues of faith into the conversations in which the Lord places me. If I believe that the truth of the gospel will allow me to spend eternity with my Creator, it is selfish to keep that truth to myself. Due to my heightened awareness of this reality, living a lifestyle of worship has become my greatest goal. If I long for all to have a personal relationship with their eternal Father, I have to live a life that would cause others to crave the same Jesus that they see inside of me.

Therefore, I live in a way that exudes Christ in order to point others to Him. Without Christ, I have no purpose or hope for the future. But with Him, every step I take leads me towards an opportunity to share or act like Christ. I am thankful that the Lord has provided a way for me to encourage others to live a lifestyle of worship. Every week, I lead a group of seventh grade girls for lifegroup. My job is to help illuminate the mysteries of the Bible, so that they can respond to situations in a God-honoring way throughout their middle school experience. If I am constantly talking about my anxieties or arguing with other people around me, I am not showing them that having Christ in me produces the fruit that is promised in Galatians 5:22-23, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.” Living a lifestyle of worship means remaining a fountain pouring out these fruits of the spirit.

In order to honor Christ with my actions, I have to know how He lived. I have to know what honors Him, and I have to know how He responded to situations so that I can respond in the same way. But I can’t just snap my fingers and know every detail of Jesus’s life. I have to open my Bible daily and study the words that He has gifted to us. By reading His word, I am learning more about Him, and therefore responding like He did. Due to the Lord placing me in a public school, he has given me hundreds of opportunities to seek out those who have not had the opportunity to hear of Christ’s love, and those who have, and treat them the way that Christ would have.

One girl in particular sticks out in my mind. Back in sixth grade, I befriended a girl who was from the world’s standpoint, different. She sat quietly, people-watching, wore clothes from the boy’s section, and always got gold stars on her tests. I quickly noticed her separation from the rest of the students and decided to sit next to her at lunch. After a few weeks, I finally had her talking a little bit more to me. After a few months, we were playing on the same soccer team, and after a year, I began to beg her to come to church and church camp with me. Every time I asked, I would get some excuse like her parents not being able to take her, but I stayed persistent. We continued to grow closer over the years, and I would watch as she still people- watched. Everywhere we went, everything we did together, she would quietly sit and people- watch while I talked her ear off. I never realized that so often she was watching me.

This year I invited her to summer camp again, expecting a new creative excuse, but I got a yes. I was stunned and so excited, praising God for answering my prayers even if it took five years. The night before we were supposed to leave for camp, my phone lit up next to my suitcase and I looked over to read the incoming text. It was from my friend, reading, “I just sprained my ankle at my softball game. Should I still come?” I couldn’t believe it! She still wanted to come! I was thinking it was the perfect excuse for her to get out of her previous decision, but the Lord had another plan.

After each sermon, we had cabin time where we would try to relate what the Lord taught us to our lives. This is when I became the people-watcher. I watched the wheels turn in her head. I can’t really explain it, but she began to get it. She started to open up and ask questions, but never admitted to believing anything. She could repeat everything they taught back to me, and knew all of the answers. I couldn’t believe it, she really did understand! I had shared the gospel with her so many times on the way to soccer games, but now, five years later, she finally understood. But, she didn’t believe it--not yet.

The next day our main pastor preached a pretty basic sermon about the gospel. It was simple, but the Holy Spirit was moving. At the end of the sermon, my pastor said, “Stand up if you want to dedicate your life to Christ right now.” It was pretty bold, I don’t even think as a new believer I would have stood up, all eyes on me. A few rows up sat my friend, next to my twin brother who had become close to her over the years as well. I watched as one crutch hit the ground and another and my friend struggled to stand on her sprained ankle. I was in awe. Five years later and here she was, surrendering her life to the only one that deserved her praise and the only one who has the power to provide true purpose. Later that day, I asked her what changed. She said, “After all that people-watching, I finally realized what inside you, made you so different.” Worship is a lifestyle. The first part of 2 Corinthians 5:20 says, “Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us.” As ambassadors for Christ, our lifestyle of worship has the ability to affect eternity.