still a long way off

Human beings are hard-wired to worship, even if they don't worship God.

That's why you can find imitation worship all over the place. Crowds of people straining to get a glimpse, maybe even touch the clothes, of a movie star. A room packed full of sweaty young "otaku" geeks doing para-para dancing with anime voice-actresses in Akihabara. Live shows and rock concerts. Three-month booked up tours of the Sky Tree. The Electric Parade at Disneyland.

These things are human approximations of real worship. They try to satisfy man's longing to worship something greater than himself, something from which he derives his existence and the meaning of his existence.

But in all these cases, the object of the worship is not God. And so there is no genuine encounter with Life involved. The glow of worship fades, the emotional high dies away, and no heart is changed.

The object of real worship is God. And to encounter God is to be changed forever.