Romans 7:6, Worship in Spirit and in Truth

Romans 7:6
John 4:19-24

Can you imagine what Jerusalem would look like today if every Jew and Christian visited the one Temple (pretend it wasn't destroyed) just once every year? 2 or 3 billion people, visiting only one day a year, is more than 6 million each day. Just the thought of such large crowds makes me shudder. I get tired out from being around a hundred strangers for a couple hours; I'm not sure I could handle that many people year after year after year. But God knew that. He knew the future growth of His Church and the impossibility of everyone meeting in one location. He knew we would need Him with us no matter where we live and where we happen to be praying. He severed our relationship with the Law not so we can freely sin but so we can freely worship more deeply than we could have in a crowded Temple. He calls us to worship in spirit and in truth: with our whole heart, mind, body, soul. We still worship physically, whether with other Christians or alone, but now we can also worship in situations where we can't show by our actions the prayers passing through our minds, and we can worship Him by acting in loving and kind ways toward the people around us. By breaking the connection with the Temple in Jerusalem we are free to worship more deeply, more often, more freely, wherever we are: in Jerusalem, in our homes, in our local churches, in our workplaces, or wherever we happen to be.