We sit as spectators, observing. Oftentimes, as we finish watching, we get up with thoughts, assessments, reviews and opinions of what we just watched and observed. We say “That was good!”, “That was a waste of my time.”, “I wouldn’t mind seeing this again!”, “It was too long.”, “I hope they have a part two.”
As we go through life, we formulate our own opinions, assessments and review pretty much everything. And if we’re not careful, we’ll start believing that our personal opinions about everybody and everything has to known. And every now and then, we get a rude awakening that what we think about people and things really doesn’t matter as much to others as it does to us or as much as we’d like for it to. And our opinions and assessments, get lost in the crowd, right along with what everyone else thinks. Nevertheless, we still formulate our own opinions.
We then, position ourselves in houses of worship with this same approach. We become spectators, observers, watchers, and critics, leaving with our own personal assessments and opinions. “That was good!” “That went too long.” “I can’t wait to come back again.” “It doesn’t take all that my.” “People act like they don’t know the Lord has been good.”
As servants, the preacher preaches. The singer sings. The usher serves. The greeters greet. And whatever else is done, is done. We say “He can really preach.” “She can really sing.” “They’re so good as greeters.” And even we ourselves, receive the affirmations from others as we do what we do.
The applauds, the shouts, the affirmations and the recognitions of a job well done, becomes our gauge for how well we’ve served. And as we seek to show our own approval of how others serve, we shout “Amen!”. We say “Great job!”. “I’m coming back to hear you again.” “You’re really good at that.”
Being in the audience, or even on the stage, has deceived many of us into believing that our opinions matter. We’re blinded to the fact that we are the ones on the stage when we assemble in the presence of the Lord. It doesn’t matter if you’re in the pulpit or sitting in the pews. We’re all being observed by an audience of One. And the only assessments, opinion, thoughts and reviews that matters of us, is God’s.
In the book of Leviticus, God makes it clear that He determines what should be offered up to Him as worship and He determines if what we offer is acceptable or not. God doesn’t consult the opinions of others or listen to see if the majority thinks the way He does, when making a judgement to accept our offerings of worship or not. God doesn’t observe the crowd to see who else is liking what we do or how we do it.
God is literally the only one in the audience. He’s not just watching what we do. He assessing and discerning our hearts. He knows when our “Amen” is sincere and intelligent. He knows when we sing songs and are more concerned about sounding good than we are concerned about the lyrics. He knows when we’re clapping, shouting or standing just because everyone else is and we want to be seen as engaged as everyone else. He knows when we’re sitting there as the Word is preached, but our minds address in something or someone else. He knows when we scrolling through Facebook and not the scripture. He knows when we’re having a conversation via text messages when He’s trying to have a conversation with us through the preached Word.
God knows and He’s not impressed just because we showed up. He’s not impressed just because we dressed up. He’s not impressed because we got lots of amen’s as we preached or taught His Word. He’s not impressed because people stood up as we sang that song. He’s not impressed how long you’ve been committed to that work or service at church. He’s not impressed.
As an audience of One, God’s opinion about us is the only one that matters. He’s not looking at the quality of our performance. He’s looking at the posture of our hearts. And He decides if what we’ve offered up to Him as worship is acceptable or not. He’s assessing our lives and about to give us His final review.
As our show comes to an end; as the final buzzer sounds; as the credits of our lives start to roll across the screen, God will give us His final assessment of our lives. He will either say “Well done!” or “Depart from Me!” The Audience of One has spoken.
*Tressa Jo
BeyondSeeLevel 