Must I Worship?

Robert Meredith

Must I worship?  In Genesis 1:26 it is recorded, “And God said, Let Us make man in Our image, after Our likeness.”  Man is like God in that he is a spiritual, free moral agent.  God has given to man the ability to choose.  Man can choose either to worship God or not.  If he chooses not to worship God, then he chooses to worship self, sin and Satan (Matthew 6:24).

  Often one hears questions like this one.  Really we need to consider the attitude of one that would ask such a question.  One’s attitude should be “I get to go to worship” not “I’ve got to go to worship.”  David proclaimed, “I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the Lord” (Psalm 122:1).  When one stops and truly considers what God has done for him, he should greatly desire to worship Him.  The apostle John wrote, “We love Him, because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19).  Jesus cried in agony, “My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me” (Matthew 27:46).  He was willing to suffer tremendously for us, yet man worships other gods (television, golf, fishing, couch) or sometimes attends the worship of God, but pays no attention or sleeps through it.  Man should be eternally grateful for God’s grace and long for the opportunity to worship Him.  Jesus made the statement, “But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshipper shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship Him.  God is a spirit and they that worship Him much worship Him in spirit and in truth” (John 4:23-24).

  Man is very blessed to have a loving Savior who has redeemed us from our sins (1 Peter 2:24; John 3:16).  Man has many opportunities to worship the divine Creator of all things.  The inspired Hebrew writer declared, “Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching” (Hebrews 10:25).  The Holy Spirit commands us through this penman to attend all “assemblings”.  Jesus said, “If you love Me, keep My commandments” (John 14:15).  If one willfully neglects the services, what does it say about his love for God?  And what does that say about his eternal destiny?

  Solomon tried to find happiness in all sorts of ways.  Yet, he closed the book of Ecclesiastes with, “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep His commandments: for this is the whole duty of man” (Ecclesiastes 12:13).  Why would you choose not to worship the merciful, powerful and gracious Redeemer of souls?  John proclaimed, “Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power: for Thou hast created all things, and for Thy pleasure they are and were created” (Revelation 4:11).