11 August 2005 Devotion for Today “It’s Not About Me” John 4:23
Two weeks ago when I accompanied the youth on their mission trip we encountered a theme for the entire week’s which I felt appropriate to share with you- “It’s Not About Me.” It was a good theme because many times we had to confront ourselves with the issue of what we were doing and why we were there. We were reminded of the theme, “It’s not About Me,” when we were inconvenienced- because there were inconvenient moments. We were reminded “Its not About Me” when we were frustrated about something and remember who we were serving and why we were serving. Or if we didn’t like what the program directors or the staff were doing in the program we had to remind ourselves again, “Its Not About Me.” If it’s not about you and its not about me, then who is it all about? The answer should be obvious- its about God and what He wants and what pleases Him.
When we gave our lives to Jesus Christ, we should have been aware of the fact that God doesn't want just a part of your life -- he wants all of you. He asks for all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength. God desires your full devotion, not little bits of your life. In our text today, the Samaritan woman once tried to debate Jesus on the best time, place, and style for worship. She was basically saying, “Its all about us- the way we do it is best. Right here, up on this mountain- that’s the best way to worship God.” Jesus said that the Jews worshipped in the
When I attended Spurgeon’s College we performed an exercise in one of our classes where the professor had us go around the room and discuss the following sentence, filling in the blank: “I like to think of God as ..." and then they share their idea of the kind of God they'd like to worship. One said, “I like to think of God as a dandelion.” A large, burly-looking woman with a short hair cut said, “I like to think of God as a woman.” But we cannot just create our own comfortable or politically correct image of God and worship it. That is idolatry. Understand that it’s not about us- because God made us in His own image. We don’t make God in our image. I’ve also heard people say, “I can worship God when I am out here on my boat fishing,” and at the risk of being impolite I hold back from saying, “Yes, but do you?” When that fisherman misses that fish, I doubt very seriously he is worshipping God. He might mention the name of God, but worshipping God is not the closest thing to his heart at that moment. The way that we approach worship today is indicative of the shallow me-oriented way that we approach all of life- including our fast food. Go to any Burger King and what is their slogan, “Have it Your Way.” We think we can approach the worship of the living God in the same way.
Worship must not be based on our opinions about God but on the truth of Scripture. Jesus told the Samaritan woman, But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him John 4:23,. To "worship in truth" means to worship God as he is truly revealed in the Bible.
May you worship the God of truth today- not the god of your own mind, but the God who has revealed Himself in Scripture. Have a blessed day.
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