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I Live for This

If you have watched any October Baseball over the past few years, you have most likely seen a series of commercials with the theme, "I live for this." In these commercials, various major leaguers talk about their passion for the sport of baseball and then finish by delivering the catchphrase. To most of these players, baseball is their passion, their joy, their life.

Lately I have been thinking that as baseball players live to play in October, Christians should feel much more excitement about church. Every week, going to church should be an exciting thing for believers. At church we are presented with opportunities to listen to the Bible being taught, to sing songs of praise to our God, to serve others through various ministries, and to fellowship with other believers. We should cherish these times and not take them for granted. We should prepare our hearts for worship before these times by reading God's Word and musing on all of his wonders. We should leave church strengthened, ready to live for the Lord during the week.

While church should truly be a special, exciting time for every Christian, our worship should by no means be limited to Sunday morning. In his epistle to the Ephesians, Paul says, "And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with all your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ." And in Colossians he states, "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him." Paul is not describing once-a-week activities here; God's Word should be saturating our minds, and we should be filled with the Spirit to the point where we are overflowing with praise for God. Paul exhorts us to always be giving thanks and the be doing all that we do in the name of Christ.

Basically, our whole lives should be about worshipping and glorifying the Lord. Because of what he has done for us, all believers should live for him with a true heart of worship. Therefore, we should be excited about church and every chance that we get to worship corporately with our fellow Christians, and as we go through our days, we should constantly be worshipping God. We can do this because our lives have been changed by the gospel. Because Jesus lived, died, and lives for us, we can live for him. And we it comes to worship, every Christian should be able to say without hesitation, "I live for this!"

There is no higher calling, no greater honor
Than to bow, and kneel before Your throne
I'm amazed at Your glory, embraced by your mercy
O Lord, I live to worship You