Updated: Jun 24, 2018
We have a service at church called Breaking of the Bread. It is held in an intimate setting, more so than Family Hour in the Chapel. The room is small compared to the large almost ark shaped chapel. It is usually full of people with three rows of chairs going all around it. The Lord’s supper, a loaf of bread and wine/juice, are on a table in the center. Piano music indicates the start of service. We sing a song from one of the old hymnals; a sweet song of praise and worship. No one person leads, but many contribute little bits and the Holy Spirit moves among us, teaching, encouraging and edifying us. Then of course, we partake in the Lord’s Supper. We remember what Jesus did for us.
Something wonderful happens while I am sitting there. The surface below my feet that just a minute ago was a carpeted floor, becomes holy ground. The air seems to still as I hang onto each word that is spoken. My heart is moved to soaring heights as I hear God’s word in the readings and the songs we sing. When the bread and the wine come around, well that’s personal… I can’t see Jesus there physically, but I sense His presence. I feel His love and I know God is with me. I don’t know what heaven will be like. But sitting in those moments at Breaking of the Bread, I think I see a glimpse of it. This is the picture I keep tucked in my heart. This is what I long to be doing all my life, worshiping God in Spirit and truth. “God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth." John 4:24
So, the spirit part of worship, what I described for the most part above, is the “easy” part. The truth part, not so easy. It’s not easy to do inventory on yourself, in a truly honest way and remember what to do with it. I don’t mean we put ourselves under a microscope day in and day out. But we who call ourselves “followers of Christ” endeavor to live in a manner worthy of our calling, yes? The disciple Paul said, “As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.” Eph. 4:1 That is God’s word to us. That is the urge of our hearts, to be obedient to God, not because we have to, but because we want to. We want to please our Heavenly Father and be a light for Jesus. After all, it’s not just our reputation on the line anymore.
In Christ we stand for Someone. That Someone is not just anyone, it’s Almighty, Holy, God. The same God that made everything, knows everything and is everything. He is the same God that has called us into a relationship with Him. We are made in His image. We are proclaiming His message. We are His kids.
Yet because we live in these human tents, with human hearts, we still deal with sin in our lives. I remember as a young Christian, a very godly woman who was trying to disciple me asked, “As a Christian