One of my favorite passages of worship is John 4:21-24. It is chock full of so much information from Jesus about worship. (Check out my previous post on this scripture here.) Today I'd like to zero in on the 24th verse in which Jesus says, "God is spirit and his worshipers must worship him in spirit and truth."
The Greek word for worship in this passage is "proskuneo" which translates as "worship". This word is a description of someone falling to their knees and kissing the feet and the hands of a superior person before them. Imagine a dog at the feet of his master, licking away at his master's feet and hands, in willing and loving submission. An act of love, trust, and loyalty. That is the image of the greek word for worship.
When you clicked the link to this blog you might not have been thinking of kissing in terms of humble, sloppy wet smoocheroos for God. For many dedicated followers of Jesus it's even hard to think of worship in this way. How do we worship this way? Jesus supplies the answer: in spirit and truth (John 4:24).
We must worship in spirit. Our spirit is our soul, our being, our very breath. God demands you in your worship, not a phoned-in, going-through-the-motions you. Be present. Be real. Give him all you have at the moment (Mark 13:20).
We must worship in truth. The word in Greek (alethia) doesn't simply mean a spoken truth. But rather a truth of reality and sincerity. It is a straightforward word. Speak, pray and sing with an honest heart before God. No facade. No pretense. He can handle who you really are... Problems, issues, desires, and all. Give it to him straight. He can handle it.
Allow "kissing" to be part of your worship. Go to him in an act of willing submission. And act of love, trust, and loyalty. Afterall, he gave you all of that and more with Jesus on the cross. Consider the words of John Mark McMillan...
"So heaven meets earth like a sloppy wet kiss."
from the song How He Loves
Perhaps you may worship him in return in such a way.
worship Him 24/7...
Scott
Check out John Mark McMillen's How He Loves video below. "sloppy wet kiss" can be heard at 3:20.