Made For Worship

Everyone is a storyteller. You might not consider yourself one, but it’s true. Story is how we make sense of the world. It brings meaning to life and shapes how we connect with people. 

However, not all stories are created equal. Not every story is true. Truth isn’t defined by what we believe, but by what corresponds to reality. That means the stories we live out can be deeply different from each other. Just look around and you’ll see it: different opinions about the world around us, who we are, and whether God is even good. 

So let me ask you: what’s your story? 

Maybe it’s “I’m good” or “I’m not good.” Maybe it’s “God is good” or “God is not good.” Maybe you’re living as the hero, or maybe you feel stuck as the victim. Whatever your answer, your story will ultimately determine your life and what (or who) you worship. 

The Christian Story

The Bible tells a very different story than the ones our culture offers. It says we’re created by a personal and loving God with infinite worth and value because we are made in His image. It explains how we became separated from Him by believing a false story, one that led to sin and shame. But it also reveals how God’s unstoppable love made a way back through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. 

This rescue mission is called the Gospel, which means “good news.” To believers, it promises forgiveness, eternal life, and a new identity. It reminds us that there will be life beyond this life, painting a glorious future where all the wrongs of this world will be made right. 

The truth is, whatever story you put your hope in is the story you’ll worship. If the hero of your story is your spouse, a parent, a political movement, financial assets, new technologies, or a horoscope, then you’ll worship those things. If your hero is YOURSELF, you’ll bend everything to your own will.     

For those of us who are in Christ, however, worship is the expression of our identity toward God. This leads us to the question: What does it look like to live a life of worship? 

1. Worship is Rooted in Who We Are in Christ  

“I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” – Romans 12:1-2 

The Apostle Paul opens this passage with God’s mercy—tender-hearted pity being given to hard-hearted perps. Mercy is Jesus living the life we could never live, dying the death we deserved, and rising so we might be clothed in His righteousness.  

Paul’s point is this: in light of all God has done, our response should be to offer our whole selves back to Him. Our bodies. Our minds. Our pride. Our service. That is worship. 

C.S. Lewis illustrates this beautifully in The Horse and His Boy. The main character, Shasta, grows up believing he’s a nobody, only to discover in the end that he is really Prince Cor, beloved son of King Lune.  

Once reunited with his son, King Lune passes on this piece of wisdom:  

“For this is what it means to be a king: to be first in every desperate attack and last in every desperate retreat, and when there’s hunger in the land (as must be now and then in bad years) to wear finer clothes and laugh louder over a scantier meal than any man in your land. And to see that justice is done to all, whether low or high. For if it is not so, the king is not a true king. Mercy that is detached from justice grows unmerciful.”(1)

That famous last line helps us see why the mercies of God are so stunning. They aren’t cheap or sentimental. They aren’t detached from justice. At the cross, justice was satisfied so God’s mercies could flow. That’s what makes them so transforming. 

In Christ, we discover our true identity. We are not unwanted, unloved, or orphans with a lost name. We are the beloved of God and coheirs with Christ. As sons and daughters of the King, worship is the natural outcome of our lives no matter where we are or what we’re doing.  

What part of your life needs a revival of worship? What habits need to be conformed to the image of Jesus? Because when you live out of your true identity in Christ, worship isn’t confined to Sunday morning. It spills into every corner of your life.

2. All of Life Is Worship 

“Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name. Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.” – Hebrews 13:15-16 

The book of Hebrews describes worship in the following ways: praise on our lips and obedience in our lives. Talking about Christ’s goodness is worship. Doing good and sharing what we have is worship. It’s not just about songs we sing; it’s about the lives we live. 

Brother Lawrence, a 17th-century monk, spent his life washing dishes and repairing sandals, but he came to see every little task as an offering to God. “We ought not to be weary of doing little things for the love of God,” he wrote, “who regards not the greatness of the work, but the love with which it is performed.”(2) 

If Brother Lawrence could joyfully worship God with a dish rag in his hand, then what would it look like for us to worship God in our everyday lives? S-l-o-w-l-y, after countless resets, God’s grace helps guide us towards worship in all things. Sometimes I’ll have to offer a prayer of repentance and reorientation to the Lord—ten, twenty, or even a 100 times a day: “Father, turn my heart back to Christ’s love.”  

When you practice living this way, your life begins to bear the fruit of worship: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23a). 

3. A Life of Worship Is Practice for Eternity 

John’s vision in Revelation gives us a glimpse of eternity: 

“A great multitude… from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb… and crying out with a loud voice, ‘Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!’” – Revelation 7:9–10. 

This is the end of the story—the people of God gathered in victory, praising the One who saved them. Not praising themselves or celebrating their achievements, but declaring that all glory belongs to the Father, Son, and Spirit. 

Until that day, every act of worship now is practice for eternity. Every song we sing, every step of obedience, every moment of sacrificial love is rehearsal for heaven’s chorus. 

Think of it like a recital. For months, my kids would practice their Christmas piano pieces. At first, they were clunky and off-beat. But over time, with patience and correction, they became beautiful. And here’s the thing: as a father, I didn’t just love the recital—I loved the practicing too. 

That’s how God sees our worship: He loves to listen to us practice. He doesn’t get impatient. He doesn’t cover his ears. He just sees us growing, changing, transforming into a more beautiful song. He is not sitting on the throne yelling out every imperfection. He enjoys the journey with a smile and gently offers wisdom through His Spirit: “Play this note instead. That part will sound wonderful when you play it a little softer. Build that part with a crescendo.”  

He waits, encourages, and reminds us why we’re playing in the first place. And history tells us we can believe Him! Even when we stop practicing altogether, He calls us back to the bench with a measure of grace. 

Living the Story of Worship 

So what does it look like to live a life of worship? 

• Worship is rooted in who we are in Christ. We are beloved sons and daughters of God, and worship is our response to His mercy. 

• Worship extends into every part of life. Worship isn’t confined just to Sundays, but instead shapes our work, our words, and our relationships. 

• Worship is practice for eternity. Every act of obedience now prepares us for the day when we’ll join the heavenly chorus. 

Which brings us back to the question: what story are you living? Who’s the hero? 

If it’s Jesus, then worship Him. Offer Him your whole life—your lips, your labor, your love. Don’t just live for today. Practice for forever. Because eternity is coming, and the recital will be glorious. 

References: 

1) C.S. Lewis, The Horse and His Boy, (New York: Macmillan, 1954), pg. 209.
 

2) Brother Lawrence, The Practice of the Presence of God, and the Spiritual Maxims (Cosimo, Incorporated, 2006), pg. 14.