Blog 9.13.21
Excited!
Every day without exception, I receive the most glorious welcome home party when I walk through my front door. No, it’s not from Amanda. No, it’s not even from my boys. Without fail, as soon as I walk in the front door, my two dogs, Oaklee and Hattie, literally fall all over themselves to get to me. There’s licking and jumping; it is rambunctious chaos of affection and love for a few moments. We have all seen the videos of dogs separated from their owners and how happy they are when reunited. The purity and wholesomeness of these moments brings a tear of happiness to our eyes because we know that feeling. It is pure delight and, for lack of a better term, rejoicing. It is a sight to behold.
In the Sunday morning young adult class, we have been looking at the Gospel of John, and we arrived at the narrative of John 4, the Samaritan Woman at the well. During this conversation, Jesus informs the Woman that, “Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks” (John 4:23). Let’s first recognize that Jesus is pointing out that worshipers often lean toward one direction, either worshiping in Spirit or truth. Both are required and sadly, I believe, we do both consistently poorly.
As I was studying, I drilled down into the word worship. The Greek word is προσκυνέω – proskyneō (pros-koo-neh’-o)- which translates to our word worship. On the surface, this seems like a cut-and-dry translation. However, as I dug deeper, it appears that this word is a combination of two other Greek words, pros meaning “with regards to” and kyon meaning “dog”; signifying worship means to act like a dog. This is also where we get the word prostrate- to bow low; submission. Some may be offended by this proposal for the word’s translation, but I think it to be quite endearing. I think we can agree that worship at the very least means prostrating oneself and becoming lower, whether in posture or attitude. And then I picture my dogs and how much they are crazy about me when I come home. And then I think, “Why don’t I act the same way when I get to come into God’s presence?”
Now let me tug at your heartstrings as you imagine this scene unfolding for the first time.
“When the cool evening breezes were blowing, the man and his wife heard the LORD God walking about in the garden. So they hid from the LORD God among the trees. 9 Then the LORD God called to the man, “Where are you?” 10 He replied, “I heard you walking in the garden, so I hid. I was afraid because I was naked” (Genesis 3:8-10).
One day as God entered into the garden, there was no excited greeting. No one was eager to meet Him. The customary joyful reception was missing. Man and Woman were there, but they were hiding. Man and Woman were ashamed and fearful, so they chose to hide and failed to worship God in Spirit and truth.
Thankfully, in our present redeemed state, shame and fear are cast out by love. There are now no barriers, and we can now excitedly worship God. As the writer of Hebrews states, “… let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water” (Hebrews 10:22).
Let us not hold back our love and adoration for God. Instead, let us worship Him, as only He deserves.