Activity and Adoration

We are reading a great book as a staff entitled Celebration of Discipline by Richard Foster. In this week’s chapter on worship, we ran across a great quote. “Activity is the enemy of Adoration.” Let that sink in for a minute. Say it to yourself. I think this idea has some very significant implications for us.

Jesus tells us that He came that we may not only have life, but have it to the full. I guess the question I have is … full of what? There is no question that our lives are full of stuff. Full of school, full of work demands, full of extracurricular activities, full of recreation, full of finals, full of homework, and full of dysfunctional relationships. It seems that our lives are full, but not the kind of full that Jesus was talking about. He came that our lives may be full in Him, but my fear is that we’re so full of everything else that all we give to God is the left-overs. That spinach enchilada from Los Cucos is good microwaved on the second day, but it pales in comparison to the way it tasted when it first came out. Steaming hot, fresh out of the oven, dripping with cheese, accented with beans, rice, fresh vegetables and served with chips, salsa and green sauce. When you just have the left-overs, you’re missing out on the whole experience.

We are often settling for less that what we could have. I think we need to have a priority check. Is our “full” life keeping us from church? Are we neglecting meeting together with our community of believers because we’re too busy? Activity is the enemy of adoration. You were created to worship the Lord, to adore Him, to stand in awe. If it’s been a while since you’ve been at that place of worship, I’m willing to place a bet (I can do that now that I’m not Baptist anymore) that it’s because of too much activity. If activity has kept you away from worship, away from adoration, it’s time to confess that sin to the Lord, and make it right with Him. Don’t settle for once a month with the Lord when you could have it every day. Learn to say no, learn to be Still, and invest in the Kingdom and in your church.