One thing is for certain….this post is gonna get me in trouble with at least half of my brothers and sisters in Christ. So right off, I’m going to prepare my defense by laying some groundwork, before asking my questions on the love of Jesus Christ expressed.
I’m writing this for all of the good, faithful, Christians who are moved to do works for Him by the Holy Spirit, but who honestly do not experience the emotion of love for Jesus Christ that brings the pounding ecstasy of raised arms, tongues speaking, and feet dancing among a gathering crowd of Christians.
With apologies to the faithful Pentecostal folk, and the Christian teenagers moving to their own beat…..I feel the need to confess my confusion of worship by others in these difficult times.
Firstly, it’s important for me to confess….when I have been buffeted by the world, I sometimes shut my doors, turn on the stereo full blast, and let the southern Gospel Gaithers and Hoppers stir me with their tunes. The loud music and the deep bass brings my spirit to joyful remembrance of good times past, and the words of faith brings the feelings of hope alive once again, as my spirit soars and the Holy Spirit within me begins the dance of praise that my feet and heart can not hold back. After being enveloped in the music of praise and prayer, I am restored, not from the stereo or the singers, but from the Spirit, as He moves to the places that need His touch most, which I had prevented through my distress. Music is one of the ways He is able to move through me, without me getting in the way.
A few times in my life, I have been so close to losing my life, my self, or my loved ones, that my sobbing prayers behind closed doors have been taken to my LORD GOD and my Savior Jesus Christ by the Holy Spirit, as He spoke the words that I could never form.
So…..I understand His moving, and I have experienced His touch and His Way.
But this is what confuses me….
Why do so many Christians have to make it all about the emotion of love for Jesus Christ?
The congregation of faithful Christians gathers weekly and sings for fifteen minutes, with the beat of the songs getting faster and faster, and the hands reaching to the Heavens, feet dancing, and at that very peak of emotional release, the beat of the music changes to reverent sobs, as tears stream down the worshiping congregates. They sway and they look to the Heavens, and at exactly twenty minutes into their worship as always, the tongues of foreign speech began piercing the air. Once the emotion of love is experienced, the audience is then prepared to receive the teachings from the Word of God.
Why do so many Christians attach so much importance to experiencing and displaying this emotion of love?
Is not the act of love more important, than the displayed emotion of love?
When a person is loved by Jesus Christ, is it expressed through his emotional attachment to the believer, or is it expressed through the sacrifice of his life on the cross?
When a believer resurrects in Heaven, will Jesus Christ run to him with outstretched arms, as is popularly portrayed by media today? Will Jesus stroke and comfort the newly arrived with the emotional display of a shepherd finding his beloved lost lamb?
Or will the King Jesus Christ’s attention be toward those who accomplished the things He asked them to do. Will His focus be on the actors or the feelers in the congregation of Faithful that surround His Throne?
Will Jesus Christ choose the workers or the dancers to be invited to His wedding feast?
Is the LORD GOD pleased more with the released souls of the joyful celebrants, or the sweat, blood and tears of the dedicated workers?
Are the worshipers who celebrate and praise each week excused from the works that are expected of others?
I don’t know.
But...if there are any other Christians out there that do not experience the emotional side of loving Jesus Christ, but faithfully accomplish His Works through the moving of the Holy Spirit….
I just wanted you to know, you are not alone.
David "Bucker" Becker
I’m writing this for all of the good, faithful, Christians who are moved to do works for Him by the Holy Spirit, but who honestly do not experience the emotion of love for Jesus Christ that brings the pounding ecstasy of raised arms, tongues speaking, and feet dancing among a gathering crowd of Christians.
With apologies to the faithful Pentecostal folk, and the Christian teenagers moving to their own beat…..I feel the need to confess my confusion of worship by others in these difficult times.
Firstly, it’s important for me to confess….when I have been buffeted by the world, I sometimes shut my doors, turn on the stereo full blast, and let the southern Gospel Gaithers and Hoppers stir me with their tunes. The loud music and the deep bass brings my spirit to joyful remembrance of good times past, and the words of faith brings the feelings of hope alive once again, as my spirit soars and the Holy Spirit within me begins the dance of praise that my feet and heart can not hold back. After being enveloped in the music of praise and prayer, I am restored, not from the stereo or the singers, but from the Spirit, as He moves to the places that need His touch most, which I had prevented through my distress. Music is one of the ways He is able to move through me, without me getting in the way.
A few times in my life, I have been so close to losing my life, my self, or my loved ones, that my sobbing prayers behind closed doors have been taken to my LORD GOD and my Savior Jesus Christ by the Holy Spirit, as He spoke the words that I could never form.
So…..I understand His moving, and I have experienced His touch and His Way.
But this is what confuses me….
Why do so many Christians have to make it all about the emotion of love for Jesus Christ?
The congregation of faithful Christians gathers weekly and sings for fifteen minutes, with the beat of the songs getting faster and faster, and the hands reaching to the Heavens, feet dancing, and at that very peak of emotional release, the beat of the music changes to reverent sobs, as tears stream down the worshiping congregates. They sway and they look to the Heavens, and at exactly twenty minutes into their worship as always, the tongues of foreign speech began piercing the air. Once the emotion of love is experienced, the audience is then prepared to receive the teachings from the Word of God.
Why do so many Christians attach so much importance to experiencing and displaying this emotion of love?
Is not the act of love more important, than the displayed emotion of love?
When a person is loved by Jesus Christ, is it expressed through his emotional attachment to the believer, or is it expressed through the sacrifice of his life on the cross?
When a believer resurrects in Heaven, will Jesus Christ run to him with outstretched arms, as is popularly portrayed by media today? Will Jesus stroke and comfort the newly arrived with the emotional display of a shepherd finding his beloved lost lamb?
Or will the King Jesus Christ’s attention be toward those who accomplished the things He asked them to do. Will His focus be on the actors or the feelers in the congregation of Faithful that surround His Throne?
Will Jesus Christ choose the workers or the dancers to be invited to His wedding feast?
Is the LORD GOD pleased more with the released souls of the joyful celebrants, or the sweat, blood and tears of the dedicated workers?
Are the worshipers who celebrate and praise each week excused from the works that are expected of others?
I don’t know.
But...if there are any other Christians out there that do not experience the emotional side of loving Jesus Christ, but faithfully accomplish His Works through the moving of the Holy Spirit….
I just wanted you to know, you are not alone.
David "Bucker" Becker
1 comments:
God is love. He loves anybody and everybody. It is not emotion that we are called to serve Him, it is by faith. We are to live by faith, not by sight. Emotion from God's love is a by-product of His character. We do need to share His love and the good news of eternal life with the rest of the world. -Amen
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