I like to think of the worship services at my home congregation as taking place in a meadow. This is a comforting place where I know the ground well. I know where the sweet grass lies and where the rocky crags can trip me up. When I’m thirsty, I know where the crystal waters of the stream run. The rest of the flock is as familiar as family. I know the voice of our shepherd and I trust her. Is worship in this setting always, or even usually, a mountaintop experience? Honestly, no. But is it meaningful? Absolutely.
In many ways it’s more meaningful than the pomp of the mountaintop worship service. These are people who know me well—and still accept me. These are the people I turn to when I need help or encouragement or a good laugh. It isn’t grand and it isn’t glorious but it is good and godly and very meaningful.
What makes worship meaningful? What makes life meaningful? For me, the answer to both questions is the same: a relationship with God.
This message was adapted from “Meaning-Full Worship” by Susan Greeley that appeared in the January/February 2011 issue of Lutheran Woman Today (now Gather) magazine.