Mike Criswell
When I was a child, I had some little toy blocks made of wood. On four sides were pictures of animals and such, and on the other sides were the letters of the alphabet. You know the kind, ABC blocks! Ostensibly, the toy was designed to teach me my ABCs and to help me learn to read and write. I suppose it worked to some degree. I did learn my ABCs but given I’m a terrible speller, maybe I should have also learned the other 23 letters of the English alphabet too. For me the blocks were mostly used to create towers that I could smash to the ground.
As I’ve grown older, however, I’ve come to see something deeper in those little blocks that my mom and dad gave me. In reality, those ABC blocks weren’t the alphabet at all! They were just pieces of wood that had symbols on them. By themselves, they spelled nothing! By themselves, they were just wood with ink forms imprinted on each side. And while they may have helped in reminding me of what they represented (i.e., ABCs), they were really not good for much more than building towers that I could smash. For those blocks to really do me any good in life, I had to use my mind and take it to the next level. It was up to me to learn what the symbols really stood for and how to connect those symbols to eventually spell words and even write this short essay!
So let me take a moment and mix my metaphors. Those ABC blocks were really the “nuts and bolts” of the English language. They were not the English language in and of themselves, but they were simply the tiny components (nuts and bolts) that held the English language together. In the building of structures it takes nuts, bolts, and other materials to have the completed project.
So, what is my point? Well, when it comes to our worship in the church, the ordinances of worship are simply the ABC blocks of our assembly. They are nuts and bolts! In reality they are not “worship” per se but rather are the instruments by which we come near the very essence of God. They are the guideposts that point us to a real and deeper spirituality. They are the ABC’s that spell out the nature of God.
Let me illustrate as follows: Most Christian faiths assemble regularly to observe the “Lord’ Supper.” While the practice has variations depending on the denomination, scripture points out that Jesus took a loaf of unleavened bread and a cup filled with the fruit of the vine and instituted His precious memorial. To each of these things, he gave spiritual significance. Thus, two thousand years later, the Lord’s church still assembles and does the same! But just because we assemble and carry out the ordinances of worship, does not mean that we have understood their significance. Even if we replicate perfectly the mechanics and practices of a 1st century assembly, this does not mean we have truly “worshiped.”
Worship is as much about the heart and our relationship with God as it is about replicating the right forms. While the forms of worship are necessary, let’s not forget that the items of worship are simply the ABCs that spell “The Love of Christ.”
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