在結束敬拜這個題目以前，我們必須明白一個問題：神為什麼要我們敬拜他？很多人會與神的這個要求斗爭，特別是在基督徒生命的早年。我記得年青時也曾經想過：為什麼神堅持要我們敬拜他？是不是因為他太過自我呢？

魯益思（C.S. Lewis）是其中一個與這問題斗爭的人。他說曾經有一段時間，以為神實際上的意思是：「我最希望的是人對我說，我是多麼的美好和偉大。」不過，他後來終於明白了神要我們敬拜他的時候，我們內心的享受是比神的享受更多。魯益思寫道：「在命令我們敬拜他的時候，神是在邀請我們享受他的慈愛。」他繼續指出，由於神十分尊重人類的意志，他不會強迫我們接受他，所以，他不能將自己給我們，除非我們首先將自己獻給他。

給予和接受的規章是最基本的，因為牠與神的關系和與我們的關系同等。我們在敬拜中穿過把自己奉獻給神的大門時，就會發現神會從同一道門走過來把他自己給予我們。神堅持我們敬拜他，不是對我們的要求，相反的那是神的賞賜──讓我們能夠享受神慈愛的賞賜。神要我們敬拜他，是要我們滿足他裡面最深的渴望，那就是他熱切地渴望將自己給予我們。這就是馬丁路德（Martin Luther）所說的一種「喜樂的交易」。

Before leaving the subject of worship, we must come to grips with the question of why God requires us to worship Him. Many struggle with this thought, especially in the early days of their Christian life. I can remember as a young Christian wondering: Why does God insist on us worshipping Him? Is it because He has an ego problem?

One of those who grappled with this problem was C.S. Lewis. He recalled how at one stage he thought God was really saying "What I want most is to be told I am good and great." He came to see, however, that, in asking for our worship, God has in mind our enjoyment more than His own. He wrote: "In commanding us to worship Him, God is inviting us to enjoy Him." He went on to point out that, because of the great respect God has for every human will, He will not force Himself upon us. He is, therefore, unable to give Himself to us until we first give ourselves to Him.

The law of giving and receiving is fundamental, and relates just as much to God as it does to us. As we go through the door of giving ourselves to God in worship we find that God comes through that same door and gives Himself to us. God's insistence that we worship Him is not really a demand at all but an offer - an offer to share Himself with us. When God asks us to worship Him, He is asking us to fulfil the deepest longing in Himself, which is His passionate desire to give Himself to us. It is what Martin Luther called "the joyful exchange".