“ACCEPTABLE WORSHIP”
A Reflection by Barry Pino (August 26, 2007)

Sarah our youngest was given a chocolate bar by one of our brothers in church.

“Anak, what will you say?” I asked.

“Thank you Tito.” Sarah quickly answered with a smile on her lips.

“You’re welcome Sarah!”

How nice it is to be acknowledged when we give something. How nice to be told that your present was accepted and liked. But how is that, in the case of an invisible God?

Oftentimes, we wonder was my worship acceptable to my Lord? Is it in the high lifted hands? Is it in the dancing feet? Is it in the teardrops that flood the sanctuary that our worship becomes acceptable?

Pastor Butch, in his sermon ‘Acceptable Worship”, related to us what acceptable worship is, using the word of the Lord in Genesis 4:1-9. A story long told and memorized even by the littlest child, the story of Cain and Abel.

We all know that Abel was looked with favor by the Lord and we ask why? Cain made an offering as well. Some contend that it was because of the offering. Cain offered the produce of his land, and Abel offered sheep. Some say it was because there was no blood in Cain’s offering. Does this mean that I have to shed blood in order for my worship to be acceptable to God?

We were brought to remember the story of the Widow’s mite. The widow’s offering was small and it was all she got, yet she gave it to God whole-heartedly. Why was the offering of the widow acceptable, while the one of the rich man, which far exceeded the widow’s, not acceptable? Does the Lord look at the amount of my offering?

Acceptable worship is not in the amount, not in the tears and dancing but in the faith that comes along with them…

It was not because Abel offered lamb or sheep that his worship was acceptable. It was because of his heart of faith. A heart delighted to present gifts to his God. (Gen. 4:4). Hebrews 11:4 shows us that Abel’s sacrifice was better. Because he cherished his God he gave fat portions of his offering.

Our Lord looks onto the offerer’s heart first before the offering. It is not in the kind of your offering, or the amount of your offering, but the amount of heart, and the kind of heart that you give it with. The widow’s mite mattered a lot to the Lord because it was all she had, and yet she gave it all with faith in her heart, trusting that God will provide for her the next day and the next. Abel was found with favor because with all his heart, he painstakingly chose the best of the lot. Thanking the Lord as if saying, “Lord all of these are your presents to me and I couldn’t ask for more. I thank you with nothing less than the best of the lot.”

How is our worship? Is it acceptable to the Lord? When he sees the crispy bills, or the new coins, does it reflect the joyful heart that gave them? Remember that the Lord sees our heart. Are we giving the best to honor the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords as worship, or are we asking Him to bless us in favor of these gifts?

The chapter was talking about offering, gifts, presents and yet the very famous part of this story is after Cain killed Abel. The Lord asked, “Where is your brother, Abel?” (Gen. 4:9) Thus, Cain quips the famous line, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” I can only imagine how God reacted that time. He would have said, with eyes wide open using today’s language, “Duh, Yes! You are your brother’s keeper.

We are responsible for them. After the offering do we just shrug our shoulder to someone in tears? Do we go our way trampling down on people’s feelings? Or do we just go our way, “I am saved anyway.”

We are our brother’s keeper! God holds us responsible for our brothers and sisters around us. This should be part of our worship!

A heart of worship, a broken spirit and a contrite heart, a heart full of love not only for the Lord but also for the lost is a worship acceptable to our God!

[The picture above was taken by Nissiel Yu in one of the restaurants at The PEAK in Hong Kong, 2007]