The Worship Staircase

Growing up in a Pentecostal church, I was accustomed to very demonstrative expressions of worship. Pretty much everything was acceptable, from singing and clapping to dancing and shouting. We were labelled as weird or "holy rollers" by some (which I understand), but that's the frame of reference that I come from.

Though I don't remember this being taught from the pulpit, I grew up thinking that there were levels to worship...like an ascending staircase. The entry level was singing, where you joined the congregation during song service. Then the next step was clapping, followed by the raising of hands. The top of the staircase, the absolute pinnacle of bringing praise to God, was dancing. If you danced, you were like a professional worshiper!

Since I never danced (I was never brave enough, plus I'm a terrible dancer), I felt like I was lacking something...as if God was somewhat pleased with my singing and lifting of hands, but He was really hoping that I'd follow the example of those dancing nearby.

I've come up with my own levels, or stairs, of worship. They're not out of a book or anything, just the way I understand it. I now believe that the entry level of worship is an appreciation for God's creation...the vastness, beauty and complexity of the world we live in (I love stuff like "Planet Earth" on Discovery Channel). I think the next step is a sense of gratitude for the life that God has given us. To recognize that God entrusted this one life to each of us, knowing that we're imperfect and would mess some stuff up, but also knowing that we couldn't live a happy life unless we could choose for ourselves...that's a deep kind of love!

The next level of worship would be to take notice of God's gift of redemption to us in Jesus. He entrusted this life to us, and because we're imperfect, He made a way for us to make the wrongs right...by accepting the sacrifice of Jesus at the cross. Then comes the highest level of worship, which is not the top of the staircase, but rather a new set of stairs that we never finish climbing. To access this staircase, we must go beyond acknowledgment of God's gifts to us--the world, our lives, His own Son--and enter into a relationship with Him. Now we worship God for more than what He's done...we worship Him for who He is.

This highest level never ends, because we can never fully comprehend all of who God is. The more we get to know Him, the more reason we have to worship Him. I think that this is the truest form of worship...to worship God not just for what He's done for us, but for who He is!