Peace: A Priority For Worship
For God is not a God of disorder but of peace.
1 Corinthians 14:33
The pastor was leading a group of young children from his church in a spelling bee. “All right,” he turned to the next child, “your word to spell is worship.”
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“Warship. W-A-R-S-H-I-P. Am I right?” the child asked. With a deep sigh, the pastor replied, “Yes, unfortunately, much of the time you are!”
In the Corinthian church, confusion and strife were marking the worship services. John Calvin points to the importance of peace and order as priorities in corporate worship.
WALK WITH JOHN CALVIN
“We do not serve God unless we are in any case lovers of peace and are eager to promote it. Whenever there is a disposition to quarrel, there you can be certain God does not reign.
“Yet many people fly into a rage about nothing, or they trouble the church from a desire that they may somehow ride into view and seem to be someone.
“Let us therefore bear in mind that, as servants of Christ, this mark must be kept in view—to aim at peace and concord, conduct ourselves peaceably, and avoid contentions to the utmost of our power.
“For if we are called to contend against wicked doctrines, we must persevere in the contest. We must make it our aim that the truth of God may maintain its ground without contention.”
WALK CLOSER TO GOD
Interruptions and distractions, disorder and discord—not a pretty scene under any circumstances but particularly inappropriate in the church of Jesus Christ.
Why? Because God has called his people to worship him in a way that draws attention to the object of worship, not to the worshipers themselves. Worship that is in spirit, in truth, in peace, in order.
As John Calvin has commented, “How easy it is to say this!” But what will you do about it?
