What Happens If Reverence Is Absent in Our Christian Lives?

A Life Surrendered

If reverence is absent in our Christian lives, I think we’re missing the whole point of our lives being surrendered to God. I heard in youth group when I was a little kid that you can’t ever say “No, Lord.” He’s either Lord or he is not. As believers, we either reverence God as a holy, powerful God who is worthy of both our praise and our lives, or we are just playing some other version of Christianity than what the Bible actually describes.

If reverence is giving all that we are to God because we believe that he’s worthy of our whole lives, then you continue to see this theme in the Scriptures of people giving everything. And when there is a story of someone giving some or just a little, that person is usually described in a negative light.

And so reverence is more than just an aspect of the Christian life; I think it’s the very core of the Christian life that every other characteristic of Christ-likeness comes out of. I say that because of Jesus himself. You see his reverence throughout his life, but specifically in the garden when he says, “Not my will but yours be done.”

We see the way that he reveres God, talks about God, or the way he sings about God (a lot of times you think about reverence in worship), and his reverence was, No matter how badly I may want this thing, my life belongs to you, Lord, and I’ll revere you with my entire life.

Laura Story is the author of Stand in Awe: How Reverence Transforms Our Worship and Our Lives.

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