When worship means receiving

The quote is posted on my bathroom mirror where I see it often, each of its eleven lines offering a check for my heart. Today the line that grips me is this:

“Worship is. . .

the opening of the heart to His love.”

(Archbishop William Temple, 1881-1944)

We usually think of worship as an act of giving, not one of receiving.

Today I am reminded that receiving God’s love – sometimes, strangely, far more difficult than offering up a song of celebration – is, in fact, at the heart of worship. For it is in receiving His love that we declare most truly who God is: King of the universe, and yet our Lover. And it is in letting ourselves sink into God’s embrace that we surrender most deeply the pride that keeps us apart.

More of the quote, and more on God’s love, to come soon. . . .