The Christian life is a life full of tremendous joy! So why do so many of us walk around with a sour look on our faces, and rightfully earn the scorn of our friends as kill-joys? Why does it sometimes seem like smiling, laughing, and celebrating are improper acts of piety? The life of Jesus and His disciples reflect celebration.
As we come near the close of our series on spiritual disciplines, I want to look at a pair of disciplines that experience and proclaim this joy - celebration and worship. They sound similar, and we sometimes confuse the two. We celebrate because we've read the last page in the chapter of history, and God wins! Celebration is praise, taking joy in all the goodness around us. Even in rough times there are things to celebrate, and joy to be found. Joy, unlike happiness, is not dependent on our circumstances. It is a fruit of the spirit, that we expect to find in the life of those in whom the Spirit of God lives.
Worship is sometimes confused for singing and music - or even worse, for a specific kind of singing. It's also sometime thought of as "the service that happens on Sunday morning." Although both of these should include worship, worship is much more. It is our hearts and lives proclaiming the worth or greatness of God, a life of being present with God, of giving Him first place in all we do and say. It's our proper response to who He is.
Another good way to look at these two is that worship is experiencing the greatness of God, and celebration is experiencing the goodness of God. Both celebration and worship rock! :) "Whatever you do... do it all in the name of Jesus Christ, giving thanks to God the Father through Him!" (Col 3:17) Worship and celebration together is letting our very lives be a song of praise... Enjoy this song by Casting Crowns...
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