Everything Matters

I recently purchased a book titled Heaven is a Place on Earth, written by Michael E. Wittmer. The tag line is  Why Everything you Do Matters to God.  I have yet to read the book, but I am very intrigued.  This idea, everything matters, can be a liberating one if understood correctly.  As Randy Alcorn wrote in the book Heaven "If your view of Heaven is boring your idea of worship is too small (paraphrase)"  Basically, if our worship of Jesus, is confined to an hour or two on Sunday morning then our view of worship is  inaccurate.  If everything we do matters to God, that means everything we do can be worship.  This does not mean everything is worship, sin is not worship, but it does matter to God.   I am reminded of the first time I experienced this idea of an expanded view of worship.  It was spring semester during my senior year at Biola University.  The intramural season was in full swing, with softball on the docket.  I was in left field on this one Saturday morning.  It was sunny, slight breeze, mid 70's, green grass, birds chirping, blooming trees and all of springs signs of renewal surrounded me.  During a slight lull in the game I started grinning and then it turned into a large, full blown smile.  Like a little boy who just hit a homerun in the championship game, or like Cody Ross hitting his second homerum off Roy Halladay in the NLCS, which was awesome.  I could not keep the smile off my face.  I was having fun!    It was there I thought God did not have to do this, but He loves to delight in His children, He loves to see their joy in things He has done.   I prayed and thanked God, for the game of softball, the community of friends, the weather, the physical ability to play (not that I am good, but that my body can participate), and whatever else was contributing to my joy.  It was a gift from the Lord!

I experienced for the first time, worship not confined to 2 hours a day.   It is lifestyle of worship within God's creation.   God is Creator, but we being made in His image are creators too.  We love creating things, whether it is art, music, movies, sports, machines, buildings, and so much more.  These things matter to God, we sometimes compartmentalize our lives so much that we do not see God's work in all things.  We often view our work or job, our entertainment choices, our leisurely activities as secular and not connected to worship.  As Francis Shaffer so aptly said, Christianity is "total reality", it is True.  Shaffer explains, "When I say Christianity is true I mean it is true to total reality—the total of what is, beginning with the central reality, the objective existence of the personal-infinite God. Christianity is not just a series of truths but Truth — Truth about all of reality." Everything matters to God, enjoy that, find liberation to worship God in work, leisure or playing softball on a bright spring morning.