Art As Worship

The other day I was thinking about worship. What we worship, where we learn to worship and how we express ourselves in worship. I was thinking that if our worship is purely for God, why would our expression change whether we’re in our living room, walking down the street, or in a church service?

I’ve often heard that people have difficulty being able to worship through song when they are not being led. When there isn’t a person standing on a stage encouraging them to lift their hands or to sing the words on the screen with heartfelt meaning. But if it takes a leader to be able to worship, are we actually worshipping or are we following direction on how to best sing a song?

Strong’s Concordance defines worship as “to depress, i.e. prostrate (especially reflexive, in homage to royalty or God):—bow (self) down, crouch, fall down (flat), humbly beseech, do (make) obeisance, do reverence, make to stoop, worship.”

The word homage is defined as “special honour or respect shown publicly”.

From my understanding, worship at its core is to humble myself, in order to honour God. We often do this through the means of song, as we use music and words to exalt God; to revere him in a public manner.

I have moments at home where I am overwhelmed by the goodness of God, and my heart is bent to worship; to pause and give honour where honour is due. I often think to myself that if we are in a regular practice of worship when we are by ourselves, would it translate to cooperate gatherings where people are more focused on giving God glory and less about what others may be thinking about how you choose to posture yourself in a public space? Just a thought.

You may be wondering what this has to do with photography and why I’m choosing to write about worship on a photography website…I’m getting there.

Sometimes when I find myself in the most pure creative space, feeling as though through my lens I’m seeing something the way no one else can, I am in awe of God. In awe of the way he made my eyes to see, the way he made creation to appear and the way that light and life come together to form beauty. And when those moments happen I just want to share it with the world and say “look how amazing my God is. Look at the beauty He has made. Look at how he has made every detail just right to display His grandeur.”

In the books of Romans, Paul says “or ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.” (Romans 1:20).

Psalm 19 reads:

The heavens proclaim the glory of God.

The skies display his craftsmanship.

Day after day they continue to speak;

night after night they make him known.

They speak without a sound or word;

their voice is never heard.

Yet their message has gone throughout the earth,

and their words to all the world.” Psalm 19:1-4

Everything in all creation points back to God, and as a witnesses to this, I get this feeling that my ability to capture it and share it is a form of worship. That when I see beauty, and share beauty it says “look what God has made, and look what marvellous things he is doing”. I see this in capturing the love between two people. I see this in documenting simple life moments that radiate joy. I see it in discovering new places that share a new aspect of our amazing world.

I know that photography is art, and that I use my art as worship.