If He Comes Suddenly...

Praise God from whom all blessings flow;
Praise him, all creatures here below;
Praise him above, ye heavenly host:
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

 

On campus, we have times of worship that are set aside to just sing God's praises together.  It's incredible to stand in a room, or outside in the middle of God's creation in one instance, and worship the Creator all together.  I find that so many of the lessons that God teaches me comes not through the sermons and messages that I hear on Sunday mornings or in Chapel throughout the week, but through the songs that we sing to praise Him.

 

God is so deserving of worship, and no doubt He takes joy in His children when we join together to sing for Him, but our journey with God can't stop there.  At the church that I grew up in, the verse above, the Doxology, was always sung after the offering had been collected, a form of thanking God for the gifts He has given us and offering them back up to Him.  I have learned to associate this Doxology with a monetary offering, however, at the end of each worship session on campus we join together in singing the Doxology, despite the fact that no offering has been collected.

 

The first time we sang the verse together I was confused, but quickly realized that this was just yet another form of worship.  This was offering our lives up to God, rather than our money. 

 

There is so much more to following Christ than simply praising Him through song.  We must follow Him and join Him in the mission field, regardless of where we are, because the mission field is all around us.  God didn't give us the most amazing gift in the world for us to keep to ourselves, He sent His Son so that we may live in Him and spread His love to the people around us.

 

Some people are called to follow and serve Christ overseas, but so many of us are called to serve right where we are.  God is always calling us to His mission, there is no "someday" about it.  Jesus could return at any moment, and Mark 13:36 says "if He comes suddenly, do not let Him find you sleeping."  I was told by someone recently that if you aren't actively doing God's work in the world, then you aren't truly following Him.  There is so much more to worship and following God than just singing and attending Bible studies.