Questions on Worship – Part 1

QUESTION 1: In what or who do we take our refuge? Where precisely do we go in alleviating our day to day struggles and frustrations? (Everyone goes somewhere or to something; it is inescapable.)

And so from this point we enter into reflection on where our worship is situated and how our worship is expressed. We all worship—it’s not just Christians and other ‘religious’ or spiritual types who worship. Even ‘pagans’ worship; they just worship things other than God, and especially in the polytheistic sense—something we all struggle with from a pragmatic perspective (i.e. beyond our core belief to our very acts).

If we answered our question honestly we might be somewhat surprised to identify the source of our worship—at least partly—is often other-than God.

Whatever or whoever we take refuge in can become for us the object or subject of our worship at that given time—with the massive exception of practical God-blessed refuges we enter into; for instance, the love and support of family and friends during loss.

Where we align our drive and means,

proffers forth our focus,

for these we are as keen as beans,

and worship becomes the locus.

Identifying Our ‘Locus’

Locus is the ‘place,’ or the area of location where, in this context, our worship is founded and sprung from.

All of us have a locus of worship; that place our desires centralise upon when the heat of life dispels pretence.

We can very well honestly ask ourselves the question at top and that can lead us to insight upon where the locus of our worship is... again, we blind ourselves by our dishonesty. We cannot fool ourselves. God only blesses those who are simply and ruthlessly honest in this process.

When we answer the questions truthfully we are very simply given the answers for opportunities in growing in our right God-worship.

The Locus of True God-Worship

True worship of God is nothing truly about singing songs at church on a Sunday, although it can involve that.

It is, otherwise, the taking of the immediate and fundamental refuge of God in all matters of clinging life, including God-blessed practical support where necessary; these are the issues contending for our peace, which is very much a daily circumstance.

The ‘better’ locus is routinely found in God. Are we there yet?

© 2010 S. J. Wickham.