By Dr. David Sylester, Executive Pastor of Operations
In a scene reminiscent of the movie, Black Hawk Down, a cloud of smoke and the smell of death and decay filled the air as a little band of kids roamed the war-torn streets of Germany in WW II robbing everyone they could merely to satisfy their starving little bodies.
Their parents had been killed in the gunfire and explosions in the streets of Germany as Hitler marched through with reckless abandon killing at will. Their hollowed eyes and frightened faces told the story well. No food, no parents, no bed and no place to go. Stealing and pillaging was the only solution for survival they could think of.
A little group of Christians hiding from the enemy coaxed these kids into their homes and provided shelter and warm-hearted care. However, the boys simply could not sleep for fear of waking up on the streets and suffering another day of starvation.
These Christians discovered that the cure for sleeplessness for these young boys was to place a piece of bread in their little hands as their heads hit the pillows. Their bodies relaxed and their eyes slowly closed as they gripped the bread, the only assurance of tomorrow they had.
Yes, worship is singing songs, clapping, and bowing our heads, but placing bread, and more specifically the bread of life which is found in Jesus into the hands of others seems to give full meaning to the act. Hebrews 13 tells us that “doing good and sharing” is another form of sacrifice and worship for which “God is well-pleased.”
Yes, we worship with our hands up, but also out!
