Worshiping and Glorifying God - Part 10: Impediments to Worship – Not knowing God:

Impediments to Worship – Not knowing God (i):

   We have seen that to worship God is to give God the glory, reverence, awe, honor, exaltation, praise, thanks etc. that He is worthy of and rightfully deserves (Psalms 96:8). Just as unless we know about a person we can neither speak about any of his qualities, nor exalt or glorify him before others; similarly unless we know the attributes, qualities, works, capabilities, stature, power, wisdom etc. of God we cannot glorify and worship Him. Just as the more closely and personally we know the person, the better we are able to speak about him, similarly the closer and more personally and experientially we know God, the better we will be able to worship and glorify Him. To know about a person is not the same as actually knowing a person, though in either case we can speak about that person to some extent atleast. But worshiping God in truth can only be when we actually know Him.

   I recall an incidence that occurred quite some time back with me; I was having a conversation with one of my close friends, and in that conversation the name of a then important and very high ranking national leader came up. Without breaking the conversation, taking that leader’s first-name very casually, my friend remarked, “Oh him! I know him very well”; then, continuing on in the same breath, he looked at me with a twinkle in his eyes and a mischievous smile on his face and added, “but whether or not he knows me is a different story altogether!”

   The fact of the matter is that my friend knew only about that leader, but did not know him in the sense of having a personal and close relationship with him. Although he could have narrated many things and could have talked at length about that person, but this was no proof that my friend and that leader had a close personal relationship and knew each other well. The same situation exists with many of us regarding our relationship with God. We know about God, we can speak up many things about Him by virtue of our intellectual knowledge about Him, but the only thing that matters is do we have a close and personal relationship with God; have we experienced Him first-hand? Is it not that most of the times we only know about Him, and not actually know Him personal and close? Is it not true that for most, their relationship with God is perfunctory, casual, superficial and mechanical so as to fulfill some ‘religious’ requirements, practices and rituals?

   Even the Born Again children of God – how well do they actually and experientially know their heavenly Father; know His desires for them; know of the expectations He has from them; know His will and assigned work for them; know His Word that He has given to guide and teach them His ways? Is it any wonder then that even Born Again Believers find it very hard to open their mouths and worship God or even utter a few words of thanks for Him publicly? 

(To be continued…)