Adoration

            My favorite Christmas carol is “Oh Come Let Us Adore Him” just the word ‘adore’ has so much feeling in it. It means to love and respect someone deeply; worship, venerate. And the melody of the refrain is also in the right key for me (don’t ask me what that key is; I just know I can hit the notes.) When I give it my full voice, I truly feel the spirit of worship deep in my being.
            If I could bottle that feeling and break it out whenever I’m just not feeling my faith, it would be so awesome. Yet, I wonder if it would lose its zest were I to have access to it all the time? Would it become routine? Would it be like a steady diet of rich foods? That would not be so good.
In the book of Daniel, we read about Daniel and his friends becoming part of the king’s chosen. He was to be fed food from the king’s table, rich foods; but he asked for special favor to eat a diet of vegetables for ten days (Sorry vegans, I’m not promoting the lifestyle). It was risky on the part of the chief official in charge of these men but he gave it a go anyway. As a result of avoiding the king’s food, Daniel and his friends stood out in strength, appearance and intelligence. (See Daniel chapter 1)
But I digress. Faith is not a feeling. Hebrews 11:1 says, “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.”  Faith is a verb, it is active and living inside of each of us. It is faith that gives meaning to the way we respond to life in general. Many people get confused and believe that faith is feeling. Adoration is a feeling, anger is a feeling, happiness is a feeling, excitement is a feeling, and so many other feelings are out there and they affect faith but they are not faith. Faith determines how we respond to all these feelings. Everyone has faith in something or someone, even the atheist has faith that there is no God.
This is likely where self-fulfilling prophecy comes into play. If you believe you will fail, you will fail. Conversely, if you believe you can succeed, you can, it may take a lot more effort than anticipated, but perseverance builds faith too. Our beliefs shape our lives. I believe that God loves me and that leads me to love others. But I truly adore Him!

Thanks for meandering with me!

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