Why. Worship. Matters.

God is not a narcissist. He is not seeking adulation simply because he want to hear people say his name.

God wants me to worship, because worship makes a difference in my life.

In John chapter 4 Jesus is talking to a Samaritan woman whose life is messed up six ways to Sunday. She had made a series of bad choices. She is a social outcast. She is, it seems, ashamed of her life.

And she has questions about how to worship God. That's good.

Here's the thing. God "seeks" worship, even from people whose lives are a mess. Granted, there are qualifiers on what makes a "true worshipper", but they are not the same qualifiers we often place on ourselves.

God's qualifiers are that we worship in "spirit" and in "truth".  True worship can only emanate from the heart of the redeemed, but the redeemed don't have to have it all together before they can worship.

God seeks sincere worship from honest, repentant messed up people. Look what happens then. This lady runs back into town bragging on Jesus. The bigger Jesus becomes to her, the less the problems of her past matter.

Do you have problems? Probably. Worship anyway.

Worship is not my response to a great life. Worship is my response to a great God.

If we only worship when life is great, we miss the point. Worship is our pre-game fight song. In worship I sing the praises of my Champion. Worship forces me to pause and see God in all his greatness, his might and his wisdom.

I serve an all-powerful, all-knowing God, and he chose to become my Father. Just how cool is that.

Spend time in worship. It matters.