Intentional Reflection

So, all this time we've looked together at the attributes of God and managed to derive two things every time: 1) what that attribute says about God and, 2) what that attribute means for us and our lifestyle. While the first bit is always exciting and interesting to me, the second half always varies from something easy (like treasuring knowledge) to something extremely difficult (like granting grace to others). While you may rank them differently, I think we can all rank them along that scale. Well, I think today's attribute may just shatter the scale in what it means for us.

For God is not a God of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints. - 1 Corinthians 14:33

God is a God of peace. This statement doesn't seem like such a staggering one: Paul's word here, eirene, pulls in threads of harmony, friendliness, order, rest, fulfillment, and wholeness. The idea of God being all of these things doesn't surprise us. Of course an all-knowing being who also was all-powerful would act in an orderly, harmonic, fulfilling way. God also loves us, so of course He would act in harmony and friendliness. God's peace - all of these things wrapped up into one - doesn't surprise us for being so total, so wonderful, so powerful. In fact, when verses like Philippians 4:7 promise us the peace of God, we get excited to experience this totality for ourselves, so even the fact that this is a communicable attribute isn't startling.

What IS startling is how Paul uses this attribute in context. Paul has been giving the Corinthians (and all of us) advice on how to structure a worship service.  This statement comes at the end, like a conclusion. Paul's meaning reads something like this: 'If God is a God of peace and the whole purpose of your service is to worship Him for who He is, then peace ought to be reflected in the very structure of your service'. Starting to catch my drift on the difficult part? Paul's implication is that the order and eirene present in our worship service is an act of worship itself - and one that God appreciates. Now, people have quibbled over what this means we can and can't do but I'm not here to establish legalistic rules. What I do want to explore is the heart attitude and intent Paul calls us to have here. Do you honestly think that everything that happens in your church's service reflects God's total eirene? I'll be honest - I don't. Paul is calling us to be intentional in structuring our time together, intentionally reflecting God's peace and order in how we run things.

But we can't stop there. If the message behind all of this is that we worship God powerfully by designing the service to reflect Him, then it's not just His peace that we need to reflect or revere, but all of His character. Can you imagine a church service that reflects God's joy, goodness, peace, justice, holiness, wrath, patience, and all of His other character traits? It might not be as hard as it seems, but it's certainly a daunting idea. The larger point of Paul's verse is a powerful charge to intentionally reflect God's character in our worship services. Are we up to the challenge?

God, I cannot in my own strength do what You call me to do, and this certainly counts as an example of that. Help me, Lord, to have an attitude and a frame of heart that reflects You when I am in a place of worship - and all the time for that matter. Grant me the wisdom to do what I can to shape our corporate worship into a time that not only praises You but reflects You. Be the center again, my God; show us how to maintain that spot for You alone. Amen.