Worship from the Heart

She came into the church service a little late.  She sat down in the last row. No one noticed her at first.  As the children’s choir stood up and began to sing, she stood right up where she was and began to sing the lyrics right along with them. She knew almost all the words and many of the actions. If the choir squatted down then she would sit down if they stood back up, so would she.

Everyone glanced back at her and began mumbling about her. The judgmental looks from all the women around her were noticeable, but she kept singing.  The kids kept singing and slowly most of the people just ignored her and let her sing. But there were a few women that wouldn’t let it go. They kept talking about her and glancing back.
At that moment I realized how sad the situation was.  You see, she was mentally handicapped. She came to church to sing and be in the presence of saints. God measures the heart and at that moment she was bellowing out songs of praise.  Her motives were pure and childlike. It was the members of the congregation that had the problem. They were judging and looking down on her. Their disgust at her bold singing was to their shame.
I listened to her sing another song along with the congregation. Her voice was the loudest of us all. I began to realize that we were the ones not worshipping.