Love You With My Life
by Tracy Reynolds
Worship is my response, individually and corporately, to who God is and what He has done. God initiates. We respond. It begins and ends with Him. He is literally the alpha and omega, the beginning and the end. We are His, and as His, we respond to His holy stimuli. Because we are not our own, but are bought at the price of the precious blood of Jesus, the ultimate extent of our worship is a life of abandon to His will and His way. When our lives are lost in His and our identity is found in Him, our very lives become an expression of worship. We love Him with our life.
We sing, clap our hands, and shout our praise to Him because it is all we know to do. But, worship is far more than these activities. Worship is responding to God’s love and grace for us by surrendering all we are to His purposes. Any activity, if offered unto the Lord, becomes an act of worship. Worship becomes more than just an activity; it becomes a way of living our lives before an audience of the King. Our household chores become sanctified work as we offer them as unto the Lord. Our interactions with everyone we meet during the course of a given day become holy encounters as we offer them for His glory. When any part of our lives is offered to God it becomes an act of worship and an opportunity for the Lord to receive glory and honor.
A few years ago, I heard a song that really caught my attention with the simple phrase, “I Love You with My Life.” While it is a great song, its lyrics are excellent theology! The songwriter, Bryan Duncan, seems to define worship as a way of life. Worship is more than a part of our congregational gatherings on Sundays. While the songs we sing and the outward expressions of praise and worship important, the fundamental issue is the ultimate desire of our hearts. True worship is a heart condition. It is a heart response to the nature, character, and presence of God in our life and culture. Loving God becomes a way of living as we seek to honor Him in all we do, all we say, and all we are. The longer I serve the Lord, the more I want to give Jesus more than my songs and corporate expressions of public worship. I want all of my life to be a grateful response to the Lord for all He is and all He has done. I want to love Him with my life.