"I loved it when I was a non-Christian and someone brought me to church. Someone else paid for the rent at that church. Someone else paid the pastor’s salary. Someone else paid for everything, and I heard about God. And it was beautiful. I would have never paid for that, but someone else did. And I got to hear about God. And I got to hear the Bible. And I got to learn about Jesus. And then I came to an understanding of that where all of a sudden it was like “Yeah, I believe that I am a child of God now. What Jesus has done is also done for me.” And I remember sitting in church one day and the plate was going by. And I was a 19-year-old male, which is kind of curious to me. And I remember the plate went by and held it, and I hand it over, and I thought “Well, I’m a man now. This is my responsibility. For thousands of years someone has been doing this so that it could get to me. And now it’s my job to put something in here to make sure that it goes to someone else. That’s good. I can’t wait to get to heaven and realize that because people gave, other people came to know, and I was part of that process. That’s a beautiful thing.”
And so worship is not about you. It’s about God. It’s amazing, isn’t it? People come to the temple on the holiest day of the year, to the presence of almighty God and they think it’s about them. Is that unbelievable? I mean, the one day and the one place that you would assume that people would recognize it’s about God, but they forgot. They forgot it was about God, and they forgot it was about those people that didn’t yet know God. If you were here tonight, don’t give us any money if you are not a Christian. You know why? It is our job, our responsibility as worshippers, not just consumers, to pick up the tab for you. God loves you. Your salvation has nothing to do for your money. You don’t earn or pay for God’s love. It’s given to you. God already loves us, and all of our money belongs to him. We’ll pay the bills, and you just come along and enjoy the ride."
Mark Driscoll, The Gospel of John, John 2:12-25.
Oh wow. That struck me. Often I feel like I have to be served, all the time. The worship has to be good, musically and theologically. The pastor must go expositionally through Scripture, with emphasis on Jesus, the cross, and the resurrection in the style and manner which I find worthy. Their ministry vision and mission must be centered on what I think is important. And I consume from churches, instead of giving. Not just money, or time, or effort, or care, or involvement, but everything. God loves me, so I love Him. God saved me, so I live for Him. God cares about me, so I love Him. God redeems me, so I can change and try for Him. God rescues me, so I can have faith and be courageous for Him. He did it all, like the song would say. I don't need to do anything, I get to do everything. I don't have to obey, I get to live life as I was intended, with the most pleasure and joy for myself, with all the glory going to Him. I ought not to demand from God's people, but join His people for His mission and His vision for the world, for His glory.
SDG
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