Happy Birthday

Psalm 95:1-2 – Oh come let us sing to the Lord; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation! Let us come into His presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to Him with songs of praise!

This week I read a piece on "Worship" which compared it to a birthday party. At first I thought this rather frivolous until I read further. The birthday person is the centre of attention and the birthday cake honours him or her. That person is the centre of attention and the rest of us, no matter how important we are, take a back seat. We sing and celebrate the fact that the birthday person was born. This says something about how important a birthday person is. We don't usually celebrate a dog's birthday. The fact is that on this day, so many years ago, God's image came into the world in the form of the birthday person, unique and special, different from anyone else on earth.

When we honour something that God has made, we honour Him. All creation shows His glory, most of all, human kind. When we honour someone for their achievements, if we really think about it, we honour God the Giver, the Enabler.

What does it mean to worship? We are the only creatures on earth given the freedom and intelligence to worship Him as we choose. It is in the act of worshipping our Creator that our dignity is most evident. Worship takes many forms. Like the birthday party it can be a sense of joyous and uninhibited celebration. God is alive! He reigns over the whole world!

Prayer: Heavenly Father help us to worship you with awe, with celebration, in spirit and in truth. In Jesus' name. Amen.