True Worshipers

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF JOHN

TRUE WORSHIPERS

John 4:19-24

19 "Sir," the woman said, "I can see that you are a prophet. 20 Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem." 21 Jesus declared, "Believe me, woman, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. 22 You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. 24 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth." 

NIV

It is sort of funny that once this woman thought Jesus was a prophet she said something to show him she was spiritual. Maybe that is just human nature, or maybe that is that façade of spirituality when with someone who is thought to be a prophet, teacher, pastor, or evangelist. We should consider if we are anything like that. But the real truth in this section of the conversation between Jesus and this Samaritan woman is in the response of Jesus. The words of Jesus are always the top priority for lessons to live by, not that the rest of scripture is not as it is all God breathed, but those words spoken by Jesus are something perhaps a little more special. We can see the lesson Jesus is teaching here about worshipping God. Neither on the mountain or in Jerusalem, neither in one denomination or another, the place we denote to worship God has little meaning at all. No matter if it is the greatest edifice filled with gold inlaid statues, a great ornate cross overlooking a huge alter, with wonderful decorations all around or a stark warehouse style structure, with a great multi-media filled platform glowing from a great array of stage lights, Jesus says a time is coming when true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. It would seem Jesus may be implying there are false worshippers, perhaps those who put all the emphasis on the place of worship, the system of worship, the organization of worship, the denominational doctrine of worship, rather than simply worshipping God in spirit and in truth. It seems God is not impressed with all mankind’s effort to show off their spirituality, by either their great places of worship or their great statements of faith, but he is seeking those who will just worship him in spirit and in truth. This we can do no matter where we are, no matter what church we attend, no matter what denomination we affiliate ourselves with, no matter how young, old, educated, or not, no matter of our financial situation, or our lifestyle, we can worship God spirit and in truth. We could spend a great many words trying to define what it is to worship God in spirit and in truth, but it seems rather plain and self-explanatory. It is not what we do that is worship, but it is who we are that is worship, that is what makes us true worshipers.