I think that we can easily say, without explanation, that our culture has completely deified the Self.  Salvation has become being “in tune” with yourself.  But what I think may need an explanation is how much Christians are not that different.  Self-worship is huge in the Church.  In fact, we know very little else other than self-worship.  But even crazier is the fact that so many people think that they are worshiping God by worshiping themselves.

We don’t understand worship very well because we really see ourselves as the ones worthy of worship.  “God, look at how much time I have spent reading your Word.”  “God look at how nice I have been to people.”  “God look at how many times I have avoided sins that I really, really, really want to do.”  “I just tithed ELEVEN PERCENT.”  “God look at my Christian fish, my wwjd bracelet, and how many people I have told not to read the Shack or Harry Potter books.” (ok, the wwjd bracelet and HP is a thing of ten minutes ago, but you get my point.)

Worshiping someone else other than ourselves just doesn’t make a lot of sense.  We have such high views of ourselves; we slip easily into the idea that God needs, or at least really enjoys, our help—a lot.  However, this is, at best, major gospel confusion.  The gospel is not a help wanted ad; it’s a help available ad.  God does not need our anything!

You see how crazy we are?  As ridiculous as it is to think that these things would make a Holy God gawk in awe of how cool we are, it is, nonetheless, what we put in front of him as our means of justification when we point to something that we’ve done so that God will be pleased with us.  But God is not impressed.

Infact, quite the opposite.  When we join other believers for worship, and bring in a moralistic attitude, we place ourselves on the cross, the nails in our own hands, and we worship what we do instead of what Jesus did.  Our attitudes often will loudly proclaim, “I did a thousand things this week to be worthy of God’s love, and I deserve to be loved.”  The paradigm flips: Man turns to God and demands that God lift His hands, bow His knee, and praise man.

Reeeeee-diculous!  Christian, what you need to remind yourself is that God is not in your debt.  God owes you nothing—He already gave everything.  Jesus’ life and death is our righteousness.  In Jesus, we have 100% of what God wants from us.  When we add anything to it as a basis of justification, we worship something other than Jesus.  Jesus didn’t go to the cross because he wanted to make a down-payment so that we could get ourselves the rest of the way there.  Jesus didn’t hang on the cross and say to himself, “oh, those people are going to owe me big.  They’d better appreciate what I’m doing for them and pay up someday.”  (You did hear that from someone, but that was not God, that was your dad.)  Jesus said, “It is finished.”  God gave everything and asks for nothing from you that He wont do in you.  Nothing but Jesus meets God’s standards for payment my friends.

Of course, a biblical description of the life of a Christ follower is one of radical change, good deeds that pour out of them in abundance.  And yet!  We have to remember that not even our good deeds pay back grace; they actually borrow more grace!  As 2 Corinthians 9:8 says, “God is able to make all grace abound to you, [so that]…you may have an abundance for every good deed.”  Good deeds just keep borrowing grace, so no matter how much you have done, your debt is not decreased—It’s only increased.

That, my friends, is what we have to—what we must—remember as we bow the knee in light of the cross.  Like the Pharisee and the tax collector (Luke. 18:9-14), only one goes home justified—the one who acknowledges the vastness of his debt, not the merit of his deeds.  God accepts worship that makes much of Jesus and relies on His grace.

Do you worship this way?  Are you standing before God empty handed, and praising him for all that he has done through Christ’s grace, that frees and empowers you for every good work.  Do you stand before Him knowing that you can only give back what you’ve been given?  My friends, let us let go of making much of ourselves and make much of Jesus.  He is our righteousness and salvation.

Austen Keith: Senior Portrait Shoot, originally uploaded by Elijah Stephen.

Ladies and Gents, please welcome my boy Austen Keith to the wonderful world of people that have graduated High School! Check out some of my favorite Senior pics of his that I shot.

Half Beside Himself, originally uploaded by Elijah Stephen.

Senior Portrait of Austen Keith (This one’s my favorite)

Teli-Tastic!, originally uploaded by Elijah Stephen.

Senior Portrait of Austen Keith (More specifically, Austen’s Teli, and half of himself).

Deep in Play, originally uploaded by Elijah Stephen.

Senior Portrait of Austen Keith

Just Thinkin Bout Stuff, originally uploaded by Elijah Stephen.

Senior Portrait of Austen Keith