What would a picture of heaven look like?
Well, we’ll get back to that.
For those of you who don’t know me, I’m not the most outgoing person you’ll ever meet; a.k.a. I’m kinda quiet.
This means that I’m usually not the person at the front. I’m not the loudest person in the room. I tend to stay behind the scenes. That’s just my natural tendency.
It took me years to realize that being quiet isn’t a bad thing. It has its weak points just like any personality trait. But, in and of itself, being more of an introvert is just fine.
Now, let’s jump topics a bit.
One of the key points of being a christian, and in the church as well, is worship. Worship is why we were created. We are designed to worship the God of this universe Who sent His Son to die a horrific death just to save us. We were created to live in communion with God and praise Him with our lives.
The definition of worship is: the feeling or expression of reverence and adoration for a deity.
This definition implies that worship isn’t just something we do on Sunday mornings and Wednesday nights. It’s a lifestyle. Worship is waking up in the morning and going about my day in a way that expresses my love and respect for God. That being said, Sunday morning worship is one of my favorite ways to express to God how much He means to me.
And, let’s jump topics again.
Growing up, worship sessions at my church usually lacked for energy. Now, there’s no right or wrong way to worship, but at the same time, I look back and can’t remember anyone, myself included, raising their hands in worship. I don’t remember anyone ever just shouting for God’s glory. Worship sessions to me always seemed… dead.
And, we’re gonna switch topics once more.
I got back from World Race Training Camp about two weeks ago now, and it was life-changing. One of the most amazing moments of the whole ten days was on day two. We were in the training center, worship was beginning, and the leader had us turn to the person next to us and say in effect, “You are free to worship as you are. I will not judge you.” And, BOOM!
I can’t really explain it other than through the Holy Spirit, but those few sentences changed me. For the first time in my life, I honestly, 100%, totally, definitely, fully, sincerely, actually… (you get the point), didn’t care what others thought of me. I could raise my hands to the ceiling and shout “HA!!” at the top of my lungs. I could kneel and cry to my Savior. It didn’t matter. All that mattered was that I got to worship in the presence of my God.
Now, I may have lost you a while ago, but let’s tie this together.
One of the most important things I fully learned at training camp is that it doesn’t matter if I’m quiet or loud. It doesn’t matter if I’m the only person in the room with their hands raised to heaven, or if I’m the only person sitting and worshiping quietly. It just doesn’t matter. All that matters, is that I get the opportunity to praise my God with my mouth and my actions. I get to worship!
I remember looking around the room as we worshiped the final night at training camp. I remember feeling at home and at peace. I realized that God created me to be who I am, and there’s no judgement in that. I realized that worship and community like this is what we were created for. And, to answer my first question,
That is what a picture of heaven looks like.
Make sure to subscribe if you’d like to get my posts straight to your inbox, and I pray that you would consider supporting me financially as my squad and I seek to show God’s love around the world.
Thank You!
– Ben –
p.s. Stay tuned for a special guest post in the coming weeks!
