As Christians, we seem to know that we ought to worship.  Whether we are new to the church or grew up in it, we are pretty aware that “worshipping” is part of the Christian life.  We figure that’s mostly accomplished through singing and praying at church.  But since church occupies a comparatively small amount of time throughout the week, many may wonder if our worship is supposed to go beyond that.  How do we worship outside of church, though?  What does that entail?  Driving around with Trinity’s latest worship album on repeat?

Before exploring what worship looks like in our daily lives, we should consider what worship actually is.  The Bible is full of examples, not just of humans worshipping God, but also angels, animals, plants, and even mountains and stars.  Everything that has been created is capable of worshipping its Creator.  The wide spectrum of creation returns a broad scope of worship to God.  Creation worships God best when it is being what it was made to be; creation worships God by being what is was created to be.  Worship is linked with “created purpose.”  As humans, our specific purpose is to rule over creation wisely, to tend the garden, and to “fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion … over every living thing that moves on the earth” (Gen 1:28).  

We see man beginning to fulfill that role by naming the animals.  Man named things that God had created.  This wasn’t just a way to tell things apart, but the recognition and, indeed, thanksgiving that this-and-that creature had been created with a special value and a special function within the world.  Nature worships God by being exactly what He made it to be, glorifying Him in its created splendor.  We recognize that God is worthy, not only because of who He is, but for what He has done.  We see this image in Revelation 4, where the creatures praise God with their song, and then mankind declares that God is worthy to receive this praise, for He created and sustains all things.

Just our awareness of this vocation is a good first step toward beginning to live it.  In a sense, it’s natural.  We assign value to things every day.  We “tend our gardens” if not literally, then metaphorically through organizing our houses, cooking meals, writing songs and poetry.  We name our vehicles, our pets, and of course, our children.  Nonetheless, we are a fallen race, imperfect and impure.  Only through our identity in Jesus Christ, the perfect human, can we glorify God through any of these things.  The wonderful weekly gathering for corporate worship can never be replaced by any effort at detached, solo worship.  But, likewise, having gathered to worship on Sunday, we must not fail to offer up our every work as a praise and thanksgiving to God for His work of creation.  Try being intentional – look for things to praise God for, look for ways to be a “wise steward.”  As we grow in our awareness of vocation and our awareness of the worthiness of God, we will live to return thanks and praise to the Creator.  Our whole lives will become worship.

Stephen Brannen is Worship & Arts Pastor at The Advent Church in midtown Atlanta. For more info on The Advent church plant visit their website at: http://www.theadventatlanta.org/