Last night I read a line in the book "After Christendom" by Stanley Hauerwas. On page 127 the author writes "We do not love because we are married but because we are Christian." The statement went into my heart like an arrow aimed and let go with deadly accuracy. In context the author is addressing the issues of sex, love, marriage and family, but I could not help but see a deeper and wider application of the reason why we love, specifically in the area of worship. The more I thought about it the more I wondered if John 4:23 could be understood to read slightly different that the traditional view.
Traditional - "But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth, for the Father seeketh such to worship him." KJV
My variation - But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true lovers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth, for the Father seeketh such to worship him.
Is not true worship adoration, and is not adoration true love? Said another way, authentic worship has love at its core, so I can not worship in spirit and in truth if I am not loving, and why do I love? I love because I have been redeemed, and am being redeemed by the Living God, Who is love, and I am calling, "Lord, Lord..." the One who commands me to love, following His example. I see then that authentic "spirit and truth" worship and authentic "spirit and truth" love are more than inseparable, they are indistinguishable. "...for the Father seeketh such to worship him.
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