Jesus Worthy of Our Praise
As I was watching videos on YouTube today, I noticed a video done by a YouTuber named Steph Macleod. The video was a band playing a Celtic version of the worship song Jesus Paid It All. It caught my attention and I watched it. Right at the end of the video they had a graphic that you can see below that shows the title of the song. Jesus, being the focus of the song has his name in the title and this got me thinking about our worship songs and how people view Jesus through them.
Just like in my last post, here I want to look at what this specific image of a worship song about Jesus is communicating to other people, but I also want to speak to worship songs about Jesus in general.
YouTube is a very popular website where many people whether they are Christians our not can view videos of all different messages and themes. This video was suggested to me, I did not search it. I would imagine that because of my previous searches on YouTube that would include searching for other worship songs would have made it easier for me to see a video like this. However, technically this video is online for everyone to see if they chose to watch it or if it happens to be suggested to them.
The image at the end of the video shows the title Jesus Paid It All. Speaking to this image and song specifically, how would different people view this, or even hear it if they heard the song. Christians who understand the Gospel story would know that this title is a reference to what Jesus did on the cross for humanity. Romans 6:23 says that the wages, punishment or payment for sin is death. It then goes on to say that the free gift of God is eternal life and ends by saying that it was done in Jesus Christ which is very important and should not be overlooked. Just as this verse says, this song is about declaring and reminding each believer that Jesus, on the cross died for or paid for our sins. We do not have to try and pay our punishment ourselves. One aspect of this that I believe this song is also trying to communicate is not only that Jesus paid for our sins but that he paid for all of our sins. He did not pay for some of it, but all of it. For believers this is great, but how would a non-believer view this especially in a song?
Personally I see it as a great conversation starter. I would think that in someone hearing or reading about this idea that Jesus paid it all that they would see "it" as debt or some other financial thing. Maybe people who are not Christians would see this as an odd concept to celebrate or worship, Jesus paying for something. Christians often worship God because of who he is and what he has done. If a person does not know who God is or what he has done, how can they understand our worship music? I think that this is a great reminder to all Christians that even though we may talk or sing about certain ideas a lot, it does not mean that the people we meet everyday know the same things that we know.
This leads into the other point I wanted to make about worship songs in general. As I was reflecting on this song and how accessible it really is on platforms like YouTube, I thought about how people who are not Christians and especially those who are not of any other faith would view worship songs in general. I believe that it is very foreign to secular, Western culture to obviously and intentionally worship something. People may say that society worships technology or pleasure and things like that but most people do not go out of their way to write a song about these things to then intentionally worship them in a communal setting. However, worship music is still in our culture. Whether it be in churches, or on the radio, or playing in a store or in some other form of media people can hear and view Christians worshipping Jesus. If you are not a Christian. how do you view Christian worship of Jesus? Is it weird, is it selfish, do you see it as pointless or is it a good thing that Christians can worship their God?
As the title suggests, Christians worship God in many ways including music because we believe that Jesus is worthy of it and deserves to be praised. If someone else does not understand that, then what a great opportunity that Christians have to educate on who God is and what he has done. If you are a believer, I would encourage you to start a conversation with a non-believer about worship and what they think about it. If you are not a Christian, I would encourage you to ask a Christian about worship music and what it means to them.
What did you think? Did you know what the song meant in saying "Jesus paid it all?" What is your belief about worship music? Do you worship God? Why do you worship God?
YouTube is a very popular website where many people whether they are Christians our not can view videos of all different messages and themes. This video was suggested to me, I did not search it. I would imagine that because of my previous searches on YouTube that would include searching for other worship songs would have made it easier for me to see a video like this. However, technically this video is online for everyone to see if they chose to watch it or if it happens to be suggested to them.
The image at the end of the video shows the title Jesus Paid It All. Speaking to this image and song specifically, how would different people view this, or even hear it if they heard the song. Christians who understand the Gospel story would know that this title is a reference to what Jesus did on the cross for humanity. Romans 6:23 says that the wages, punishment or payment for sin is death. It then goes on to say that the free gift of God is eternal life and ends by saying that it was done in Jesus Christ which is very important and should not be overlooked. Just as this verse says, this song is about declaring and reminding each believer that Jesus, on the cross died for or paid for our sins. We do not have to try and pay our punishment ourselves. One aspect of this that I believe this song is also trying to communicate is not only that Jesus paid for our sins but that he paid for all of our sins. He did not pay for some of it, but all of it. For believers this is great, but how would a non-believer view this especially in a song?
Personally I see it as a great conversation starter. I would think that in someone hearing or reading about this idea that Jesus paid it all that they would see "it" as debt or some other financial thing. Maybe people who are not Christians would see this as an odd concept to celebrate or worship, Jesus paying for something. Christians often worship God because of who he is and what he has done. If a person does not know who God is or what he has done, how can they understand our worship music? I think that this is a great reminder to all Christians that even though we may talk or sing about certain ideas a lot, it does not mean that the people we meet everyday know the same things that we know.
This leads into the other point I wanted to make about worship songs in general. As I was reflecting on this song and how accessible it really is on platforms like YouTube, I thought about how people who are not Christians and especially those who are not of any other faith would view worship songs in general. I believe that it is very foreign to secular, Western culture to obviously and intentionally worship something. People may say that society worships technology or pleasure and things like that but most people do not go out of their way to write a song about these things to then intentionally worship them in a communal setting. However, worship music is still in our culture. Whether it be in churches, or on the radio, or playing in a store or in some other form of media people can hear and view Christians worshipping Jesus. If you are not a Christian. how do you view Christian worship of Jesus? Is it weird, is it selfish, do you see it as pointless or is it a good thing that Christians can worship their God?
As the title suggests, Christians worship God in many ways including music because we believe that Jesus is worthy of it and deserves to be praised. If someone else does not understand that, then what a great opportunity that Christians have to educate on who God is and what he has done. If you are a believer, I would encourage you to start a conversation with a non-believer about worship and what they think about it. If you are not a Christian, I would encourage you to ask a Christian about worship music and what it means to them.
What did you think? Did you know what the song meant in saying "Jesus paid it all?" What is your belief about worship music? Do you worship God? Why do you worship God?
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