We must believe, then, that God has no need, not only of cattle, or any other earthly and material thing, but even of man's righteousness, and that whatever right worship is paid to God profits not Him, but man. For no man would say he did a benefit to a fountain by drinking, or to the light by seeing. (Augustine City of God p308)
This is the classical, Biblical understanding (and experience) of the self-sufficiency of God. Yet it is frequently denied in the lyrics of current worship tunes, which suggest that we offer God in our worship something that He needs, or otherwise cannot get. For that reason, it is incumbent upon parents to make these things plain to their children through metaphors like Augustine's in order that children would come to God has He has ordained: not to offer Him something He needs through our worship, but to drink deeply from the fountain, and thereby glorify the fountain.
Subscribe to posts
No comments:
Post a Comment