Durruck
Pirate!
I'll admit, my entry for this week is inspired by music, yet again. David Crowder Band's Undignified sparked my attention. This short study comes in two parts.
First, 2 Samuel 6:16, 20-22 (NIV)
King David was criticized because of the way in which he worshiped God.
Interestingly enough, Jesus turns the tables a bit in the story of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:20b, NIV, emphasis added).
What's interesting here is the way the father greets the son. He runs to to wayward son that is returning. You and I might not think it's any big deal (although if I ever saw my dad running, my first response would be to call 9-1-1 because he's probably going to die of heart failure any moment).
But the Jewish audience would have recognized something very significant. In their time and culture, it was undignified for an elder to run. The father in the story wasn't just glad that his son returned - he was ecstatic! He cared so much for his son that he was willing to sacrifice his material belongings at the son's earlier request, and now his dignity when his son returned.
This is how God responds when a wayward son (or daughter) comes back to Him. He's not concerned about proper greetings and formal apologies. He's running to greet us at the gate.
When this is God's response to us, why are we concerned that our inability to sing on-key, throwing our hands in the air, or dropping to our knees in reverence may offend our neighbor? As King David replied, "I'll become even more undignified than this."
First, 2 Samuel 6:16, 20-22 (NIV)
King David was criticized because of the way in which he worshiped God.
Interestingly enough, Jesus turns the tables a bit in the story of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:20b, NIV, emphasis added).
What's interesting here is the way the father greets the son. He runs to to wayward son that is returning. You and I might not think it's any big deal (although if I ever saw my dad running, my first response would be to call 9-1-1 because he's probably going to die of heart failure any moment).
But the Jewish audience would have recognized something very significant. In their time and culture, it was undignified for an elder to run. The father in the story wasn't just glad that his son returned - he was ecstatic! He cared so much for his son that he was willing to sacrifice his material belongings at the son's earlier request, and now his dignity when his son returned.
This is how God responds when a wayward son (or daughter) comes back to Him. He's not concerned about proper greetings and formal apologies. He's running to greet us at the gate.
When this is God's response to us, why are we concerned that our inability to sing on-key, throwing our hands in the air, or dropping to our knees in reverence may offend our neighbor? As King David replied, "I'll become even more undignified than this."
fyi I love crowder!