He sets a lofty goal, to be sure. But as for praise and adoration... I think he would disagree, and would not seek praise or adoration, and would probably find it pointless and if anything, counterproductive.
I believe he would seek for us to emulate him. My praise and adoration are merely offshoots of my admiration for how majestic he truly is.
Personally, I don't see any point to it either---it is anthropomorphizing, and so discordant from reality. That would be something like gazing upon the majesty and beauty of Yosemite Valley or the Grand Canyon and praising and adoring them.
Except that in Christ God intentionally anthropomorphized His essence so that we could have a truer understanding of our Savior. On the flip side, we do see Jesus telling his followers to call him brother and friend. It seems as if Jesus serves a dual capacity. On the one hand we see Him portrayed as divine, and on the other, we see him portrayed as a suffering servant, befriending the poor and destitute.
I really don't think El Capitan and Half Dome can be improved or benefited by my praise and adoration, nor can they be denigrated by my lack of praise and adoration, or even by my disrespect. These things are irrelevant, and the object of praise, be they Half Dome or Jesus, are unaffected either way. They speak for themselves. Or... as it is so profoundly articulated and repeated for emphasis in Exodus 3:
Moses said to God: Lo, I shall go to the children of Israel, and say to them: 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you.' If they shall say to me: 'What is his name?' What shall I say to them?
God said to Moses: 'I AM WHO AM.'
He said: Thus shall you say to the children of Israel: 'I AM has sent me to you.'
Yes, Jesus is unaffected whether we offer Him praise or not. However, I also believe that we do ourselves an injustice when we fail to acknowledge the grandeur of God's creation. Our praise and admiration are for our own benefit, as they help to put us into a humble state with faced with God's wonder and majesty. |
