Dear Father,

It appears that Your instruction to worship You in spirit and in truth means more than just approaching You with an open and sincere heart. For a long time, I understood "truth" to mean coming before You honestly, withholding nothing.

While that is important, Jesus' conversation with the Samaritan woman reveals a deeper meaning. When she asked where You should be worshipped: on Mount Gerizim or in Jerusalem, Jesus shifted the focus from a physical location to Your very nature. He made it clear that true worship is not determined by a place, but by worshipping You according to who You have revealed Yourself to be.

This understanding of "truth" implies something really important: true worship is strengthened by the right knowledge of You-- not knowledge based on assumptions, who we think You are, or what we feel You expect from us, but knowledge grounded in what You have revealed about Yourself. It reveals that sincerity and truth are not always the same. How humbling it is to think that a person may be completely sincere, yet still be mistaken.

If true worship is rooted in knowing You as You have revealed Yourself, how much more must I seek to know You? It is much like writing a heartfelt poem to a spouse while describing them inaccurately. They may appreciate the effort, but how deeply can they be moved when the words fail to reflect who they truly are? Worship in truth calls for conformity to who You have revealed Yourself to be, but how often do we worship sincerely, yet inaccurately?

Translations;
Slide 1: English
Slide 2: French
Slide 3: Bengali
Slide 4: Hindi
Slide 5: Urdu

#LettertoGod
#worship
#truth
#knowledge
#sincereheart