For the last two weeks I've been hurled back into youth ministry. Honestly, not much has changed in the year and a half that I've been out of it. Teenagers are still teenagers and their lives are similar to what they were before. God is still God and the Bible is still the foundation of His truth. I have noticed that I'm closer to God now than I was then, and I'm better able to field random questions because of the closer relationship I have with Him. But it's expected that my relationship with God will grow deeper over time, if I don't then the relationship is stagnant.
We're preparing to study Crazy Love at the end of the month, and initially my thought was to just fill the Wednesday nights with thought provoking discussion. I've come to see that all of it is leading right into the contents of Crazy Love. Last week we talked about the meaning of life and the purpose of the church. Last night, the discussion was all about God. It filled the hour and the time flew by.
I made a comment last night that I've made several times before, "Christianity is not a religion, it's a relationship with God."
Religion- a set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature, and purpose of the universe, especially when considered as the creation of a superhuman agency or agencies, usually involving devotional and ritual observances, and often containing a moral code governing the conduct of human affairs.
Yeah, that definition seems to line up with what it is. Christianity does have a set of beliefs that tell of the cause and purpose of the universe. It involved devotional and ritual observances, and there is a code to govern the way those who follow it life. The issue I take with this definition the word "ritual". Rituals are done out of habit, some of the blindly because we've always done it that way. I think there is fear that if we fail to do something we won't be good enough to receive the promised reward.
Yes Christianity does have a moral code, a standard we are called to live by, but it's because God sets that standard. Anything you follow has something that sets it apart, that's what makes you a follower or a participant.
Christianity isn't a set of rules we follow and ceremonies we perform so that God will let us into Heaven when we die. That isn't the point, that isn't the His hope, and that we never His plan. God created the earth and it was perfect (Genesis 1.31), and He created man from the dust of the ground (Genesis 2.7). God put the man on earth to rule it and take care of it (Genesis 1.28). Man was created for fellowship with God, and in the beginning there was perfect fellowship between God and man. In the beginning it was perfect. And then man chose to break that relationship with God. Man disobeyed and sinned (Genesis 3). The relationship was broken, all of creation was cursed, man was fallen and sinful, condemned to die.
God sent His Son Jesus to redeem His creation, to restore the relationship between God and man. Galatians 4.4-7 says, "But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. Because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, 'Abba! Father!' Therefore you are no longer a slave, but a son; and if a son, then an heir through God."
God adopts us as His children; God desires the Father and child relationship with each of us. God has always desired fellowship with us. He has desired our lives to be lived out of love for Him. Our motivation is love for the Father, not getting to heaven. Christianity is different from every religion because Christianity is based on a love relationship, not a fear based system of rules and doing the right things to get to paradise. God doesn't say "Be good enough and I'll let you enter my presence someday." God says "I love you so much that I am going to send my Son to earth as a man. He is going to live a perfect life, showing you what I have in mind for you, what is best for you, and then He is going to die on a cross to save you and make a way for you to have the relationship with Me that you broke. When He returns to Heaven, My Holy Spirit will be sent to live among you and in you. He will be there to guide and transform your lives, and empower you to live as I have called you to live."
Relationship- a connection, association, or involvement; the mutual dealings, connections, or feelings that exist between two parties, countries, people.
That sounds a lot more like what God desires doesn't it? He wants involvement in our lives. He doesn't set a standard and leave us to figure out how to do it, and then punish us for failing. He sent Jesus to show us how to do it, and He sent the Holy Spirit to live in us and empower us to live it. God loves us, and desires for us to love Him. God knows us, and wants us to know Him. He has made it possible for us to personally communicate with Him. Through the blood of Jesus, shed on the cross, the path to God has been rebuilt. Through the Holy Spirit's empowerment we are able to live lives for God.
God created us for relationship, not religious ritual. God created us for fellowship, not blind devotion. God created us to know Him intimately. Christianity is a relationship with God, creation to its creator. God is Holy, and He has called us to be Holy as He is. To follow God we must follow His standards. Because of sin we can't, and because of that God sent His Son Jesus to die and justify us. He sent His Holy Spirit to empower us to follow Him. God desires relationship with us, and makes the relationship possible.
Christianity is not a religion; it's a relationship with God.
To God alone be the glory!
Peace be with you
Showing posts with label Religion. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Religion. Show all posts
Thursday, April 5, 2012
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Don't Debate, Discuss
In his book, Mere Christianity, author C.S. Lewis says, "If you are a Christian you do not have to believe that all the other religions are simply wrong all through... If you are a Christian, you are free to think that all those religions, even the queerest ones, contain at least some hint of the truth... when I became a Christian I was able to take a more liberal view. But, of course, being a Christian does mean thinking that where Christianity differs from other religions, Christianity is right and they are wrong."
Liberal here does not have anything to do with a political stand point, but simply means being open minded. Christianity frees us to be open minded. One of my professors said once, "If you are firm in your faith, don't be afraid to read the Book of Mormon, don't be afraid to read the Koran." He's right. I know the truth, I am rooted in the truth that I have found in Christianity. Because of this, that which is not truth will not shake me.
I am able to take a more open minded view, not looking for how the differences in belief between Christianity and Islam, or Buddhism, or Hinduism are ok and all have the same end result, but I can look at each religion and see the elements of truth in each one. I have not yet read the Koran, and I have been meaning to begin my study of the religions of the world. All of it is academic. I am not searching for proof that my belief is correct, I am not exploring to see if these other religions are the Truth, but I am searching for the elements of truth, showing that really everything comes back to Jehovah. All truth is God's truth, and so any truth anywhere points back to God.
1 Timothy 1.5, "But the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith."
As a Christ follower, my motivation is love, 1 Corinthians 16.14, "Let all that you do be done in love." The goal is love. Jesus said, “Love God, love your neighbor.” The whole purpose of Christianity is to produce love. Love will always save us. It saves us from destructive thinking and speaking. It saves us from arrogant and condescending thoughts. It saves us from condemning things we don’t agree with or understand. It saves us from expressing our views in a way that hurts others. We are motivated by love, not legalism.
1 Peter 3.15, "but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence;" I must know what I believe and why I believe it. When I am asked, I must be ready to share it. But I am to do it with gentleness and reverence. I am to give my reasons for my faith in love.
The goal is a pure heart. The word pure means without any contaminating impurity. My motives are pure and unmixed. There is no need to prove myself; the only desire is to lead others nearer to God by sharing the truth in love. This is why I hate debating; this is why I refuse to debate. In a debate it’s two people trying to prove their intelligence to win an argument. I won’t do that. I’ll discuss a topic with people, discussion is a good thing, debating isn’t. Through calm rational discussion we can show the truth of God.
A good conscience comes from living a life without shame. It gives us the right to say what we say, because it is backed up by a life that lives out what its saying.
Sincere faith is faith with no hypocrisy. We simply desire to know truth and to share it. This is the simple life that Christ has freed us to have. It isn’t a life worried about keeping the rules, because it isn’t under the law. It’s freed from the law; it’s freed from worry and anxiety, and is able to focus fully on living for God.
Debating does nothing, it accomplishes nothing, and therefore it is a dangerous tool. In a debate people are close minded, they have fixed themselves to a belief, and they refuse to even listen to anything contrary, except to be able to refute it with an argument supporting their thought process. Nothing is accomplished through this type of stubbornness except building walls and creating chasms. Instead of debating, let's discuss.
As Christians let us know what we believe, let us know why, let us make our faith our own. Let's be motivated by love. May our hearts be pure and our motives unmixed. May our lives be lived above reproach, may we show what true Christians are, and may we not be the group that Gandhi mentions in his quote, "I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. They are so unlike your Christ." Let us have a sincere faith that simply desires truth. A faith that seeks the goal of Christlikenss in our own lives and strives to fulfill the purpose of helping others become Christlike.
Let's be willing to discuss, to listen. We cannot and will not compromise on our beliefs, but that doesn't mean we cannot talk with people whose beliefs are different. We must earn the right to talk, we must earn the right to share. Look again at the verse from 1 Peter, "but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence;" When we are asked, earn the right to talk. We must live lives of love and when people ask, "Where does this come from? Why are you different?" we have done what Jesus has told us to do. We have earned the right to talk by living like Christ.
When the time comes to share, don't do it in a way that says you're right and everyone else is wrong, that completely goes against and destroys everything you've built up to this point. Share the truth in love, do it with gentleness, meeting them where they are, that's how Lewis wrote Mere Christianity. Do it with respect.
My mentor has told me countless times, "No one ever become a follower of Christ because they lost an argument. People become followers of Christ because they are shown love." That is the goal of our instruction, love.
Peace be with you
Liberal here does not have anything to do with a political stand point, but simply means being open minded. Christianity frees us to be open minded. One of my professors said once, "If you are firm in your faith, don't be afraid to read the Book of Mormon, don't be afraid to read the Koran." He's right. I know the truth, I am rooted in the truth that I have found in Christianity. Because of this, that which is not truth will not shake me.
I am able to take a more open minded view, not looking for how the differences in belief between Christianity and Islam, or Buddhism, or Hinduism are ok and all have the same end result, but I can look at each religion and see the elements of truth in each one. I have not yet read the Koran, and I have been meaning to begin my study of the religions of the world. All of it is academic. I am not searching for proof that my belief is correct, I am not exploring to see if these other religions are the Truth, but I am searching for the elements of truth, showing that really everything comes back to Jehovah. All truth is God's truth, and so any truth anywhere points back to God.
1 Timothy 1.5, "But the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith."
As a Christ follower, my motivation is love, 1 Corinthians 16.14, "Let all that you do be done in love." The goal is love. Jesus said, “Love God, love your neighbor.” The whole purpose of Christianity is to produce love. Love will always save us. It saves us from destructive thinking and speaking. It saves us from arrogant and condescending thoughts. It saves us from condemning things we don’t agree with or understand. It saves us from expressing our views in a way that hurts others. We are motivated by love, not legalism.
1 Peter 3.15, "but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence;" I must know what I believe and why I believe it. When I am asked, I must be ready to share it. But I am to do it with gentleness and reverence. I am to give my reasons for my faith in love.
The goal is a pure heart. The word pure means without any contaminating impurity. My motives are pure and unmixed. There is no need to prove myself; the only desire is to lead others nearer to God by sharing the truth in love. This is why I hate debating; this is why I refuse to debate. In a debate it’s two people trying to prove their intelligence to win an argument. I won’t do that. I’ll discuss a topic with people, discussion is a good thing, debating isn’t. Through calm rational discussion we can show the truth of God.
A good conscience comes from living a life without shame. It gives us the right to say what we say, because it is backed up by a life that lives out what its saying.
Sincere faith is faith with no hypocrisy. We simply desire to know truth and to share it. This is the simple life that Christ has freed us to have. It isn’t a life worried about keeping the rules, because it isn’t under the law. It’s freed from the law; it’s freed from worry and anxiety, and is able to focus fully on living for God.
Debating does nothing, it accomplishes nothing, and therefore it is a dangerous tool. In a debate people are close minded, they have fixed themselves to a belief, and they refuse to even listen to anything contrary, except to be able to refute it with an argument supporting their thought process. Nothing is accomplished through this type of stubbornness except building walls and creating chasms. Instead of debating, let's discuss.
As Christians let us know what we believe, let us know why, let us make our faith our own. Let's be motivated by love. May our hearts be pure and our motives unmixed. May our lives be lived above reproach, may we show what true Christians are, and may we not be the group that Gandhi mentions in his quote, "I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. They are so unlike your Christ." Let us have a sincere faith that simply desires truth. A faith that seeks the goal of Christlikenss in our own lives and strives to fulfill the purpose of helping others become Christlike.
Let's be willing to discuss, to listen. We cannot and will not compromise on our beliefs, but that doesn't mean we cannot talk with people whose beliefs are different. We must earn the right to talk, we must earn the right to share. Look again at the verse from 1 Peter, "but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence;" When we are asked, earn the right to talk. We must live lives of love and when people ask, "Where does this come from? Why are you different?" we have done what Jesus has told us to do. We have earned the right to talk by living like Christ.
When the time comes to share, don't do it in a way that says you're right and everyone else is wrong, that completely goes against and destroys everything you've built up to this point. Share the truth in love, do it with gentleness, meeting them where they are, that's how Lewis wrote Mere Christianity. Do it with respect.
My mentor has told me countless times, "No one ever become a follower of Christ because they lost an argument. People become followers of Christ because they are shown love." That is the goal of our instruction, love.
Peace be with you
Monday, March 22, 2010
Dumping my brain
The reason I started this blog was to use as an accountability tool to make sure that I kept thinking and developing thoughts. Sometimes Monday morning comes and I have no idea what to write about, today was one of those days. One of the teens I work with texted me a couple weeks ago about wanting to talk through some stuff she's trying to figure out. Actually she asked for prayer about it and I told her we'd talk about it soon. We still haven't talked, but to prep me for the conversation she sent me a song to listen to, "More like Falling in Love" by Jason Gray.
Last night I was talking with one of my Proverbs 18.24 brothers about a sermon he's writing on James 4.11-12, he talks about something Mark Driscoll said about Joel Osteen and Rob Bell. That started us on a conversation about the sermon and the idea of judging vs. holding someone accountable.
I look at the sermon I'm trying to work on for April 11, the Religious or Relational one I've preached several times, and basically my hope for the church, and it all focuses on that idea of genuine Christianity, not being blinded by the religious rituals and rule, but just captivated by the love of a the King of kings.
So this song, "More like Falling in Love"
Give me rules, I will break them. Show me lines, I will cross them. I need more than a truth to believe, I need a truth that lives, moves, and breaths, to sweep me off my feet. It's gotta be
More like falling in love, than something to believe in.
More like losing my heart, than giving my allegiance.
Caught up, called out, come take a look at me now.
It's like I'm falling, oh, it's like I'm falling in love.
Give me words, I'll misuse them, obligations, I'll misplace them. 'Cause all religion ever made of me was just a sinner with a stone tied to my feet. It never set me free. It's gotta be
More like falling in love, than something to believe in.
More like losing my heart, than giving my allegiance.
Caught up, called out, come take a look at me now.
It's like I'm falling, oh, it's like I'm falling in love, love, love
Deeper and deeper, it was love that made me a believer in more than a name, a faith, a creed. Falling in love with Jesus brought the change in me.
More like falling in love, than something to believe in.
More like losing my heart, than giving my allegiance.
Caught up, called out, come take a look at me now.
It's like I'm falling, oh, it's like I'm falling in love.
I keep just hitting replay on youtube. I think about that, it's gotta be more like falling in love. It's all about a relationship. I hear people talk about politics, and this doesn't have any thing to do with health care, but the government can't fix anything. Making something legal or illegal doesn't make someone do or not do it, it's the mindset the person has. The song says it, "Give me rules, I will break them" but it also says "falling in love with Jesus brought the change in me."
If the church would be the church it was called to be we would have no need of politics. If Christians would live the life they claim to be a part of the world would be a better place.
I make it sound so simple, and honestly, I think it is that simple. God knew what he was doing, and if we would simply be who he calls us to be things would be so much better. If we stopped focusing on the rules that simply show us how messed up we are and simply fall in love with the best friend any of us could ever ask for, things would be so much better. I'm not saying that we'll have no problems, Jesus tells us we will, but if this idea of genuine Christianity caught on, what would happen in our lives? In our families? In our churches? In our cities? In our nation? In our world?
"It's gotta be more like falling in love, than something to believe in. More like losing my heart, than giving my allegiance. Caught up, called out, come take a look at me now. It's like I'm falling, oh, it's like I'm falling in love."
Peace be with you
Last night I was talking with one of my Proverbs 18.24 brothers about a sermon he's writing on James 4.11-12, he talks about something Mark Driscoll said about Joel Osteen and Rob Bell. That started us on a conversation about the sermon and the idea of judging vs. holding someone accountable.
I look at the sermon I'm trying to work on for April 11, the Religious or Relational one I've preached several times, and basically my hope for the church, and it all focuses on that idea of genuine Christianity, not being blinded by the religious rituals and rule, but just captivated by the love of a the King of kings.
So this song, "More like Falling in Love"
Give me rules, I will break them. Show me lines, I will cross them. I need more than a truth to believe, I need a truth that lives, moves, and breaths, to sweep me off my feet. It's gotta be
More like falling in love, than something to believe in.
More like losing my heart, than giving my allegiance.
Caught up, called out, come take a look at me now.
It's like I'm falling, oh, it's like I'm falling in love.
Give me words, I'll misuse them, obligations, I'll misplace them. 'Cause all religion ever made of me was just a sinner with a stone tied to my feet. It never set me free. It's gotta be
More like falling in love, than something to believe in.
More like losing my heart, than giving my allegiance.
Caught up, called out, come take a look at me now.
It's like I'm falling, oh, it's like I'm falling in love, love, love
Deeper and deeper, it was love that made me a believer in more than a name, a faith, a creed. Falling in love with Jesus brought the change in me.
More like falling in love, than something to believe in.
More like losing my heart, than giving my allegiance.
Caught up, called out, come take a look at me now.
It's like I'm falling, oh, it's like I'm falling in love.
I keep just hitting replay on youtube. I think about that, it's gotta be more like falling in love. It's all about a relationship. I hear people talk about politics, and this doesn't have any thing to do with health care, but the government can't fix anything. Making something legal or illegal doesn't make someone do or not do it, it's the mindset the person has. The song says it, "Give me rules, I will break them" but it also says "falling in love with Jesus brought the change in me."
If the church would be the church it was called to be we would have no need of politics. If Christians would live the life they claim to be a part of the world would be a better place.
I make it sound so simple, and honestly, I think it is that simple. God knew what he was doing, and if we would simply be who he calls us to be things would be so much better. If we stopped focusing on the rules that simply show us how messed up we are and simply fall in love with the best friend any of us could ever ask for, things would be so much better. I'm not saying that we'll have no problems, Jesus tells us we will, but if this idea of genuine Christianity caught on, what would happen in our lives? In our families? In our churches? In our cities? In our nation? In our world?
"It's gotta be more like falling in love, than something to believe in. More like losing my heart, than giving my allegiance. Caught up, called out, come take a look at me now. It's like I'm falling, oh, it's like I'm falling in love."
Peace be with you
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Religious or Relational?
As a Christian are you religious or are you relational? Do you walk through the practices of a religion, or do you grow deeper in a relationship? Is is something you do, or is it something you are part of? Can you do both?
Jesus never called us to be a part of a religion. I do not think that what Western Christianity has become is what he had in mind 2000 years ago. Jesus did not go around saying to people, "Hey, I'm going to start this thing called Christianity. In it we meet Sunday morning, Sunday night, and Wednesday evening. We get together for an hour at a time, talk about something I said, and then go home and chill until the next meeting. You should check it out." As he walked along the dusty roads of the Middle East his message was not one of mediocrity, but one of urgency, "Repent, for the Kingdom of heaven is near!" His message did not call us to simply walk along the shore of a shallow gently flowing creek, but to dive into the middle of a rapidly flowing river.
Christianity was not intended to be a religion. In a religion you can walk through the motions, unaware of what it going on. It is so easy to get caught in a routine and simply go with the flow. This is the ticket to heaven idea, you get saved to not go to hell, and that's all it is about. But this thing called Christianity is so much more than that. We are pardoned to participate as my theology teacher so frequently said. Salvation is not fire insurance, it is a passport, it calls us to go, it allows us to be involved, not in a religion, but in a relationship. If you are really in a relationship you can't just walk through it mindlessly. You cannot simply go through the motions, a relationship takes more than that, it requires more than that.
A relationship demands that we actively engage in it daily, that we don't settle with and grow complacent, but that we hunger and yearn to make it last, to grow closer to the one we are in a relationship with. You have to be starving for it. I have heard people quote verses from Jeremiah 29, "Seek me and you will find me" and James 4, "Draw near to God and he will draw near to you," they sound so simple, but that is not the entirety of the verses. We leave off the parts that call us to action, that call us out of religion and into relationship.
Jeremiah 29.13, "You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart."
James 4.8, "Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded."
We are called to action, we are called to do something. God says, "I want you, I want you so badly. I sent my son to die on a cross for you. But because of that, you need to want me just as badly. You need to chase after me like I have chased after you. You need to pursue me like I have pursued you. Nothing less than all of you will work."
The steps of the Temple in Jerusalem were built in an awkward way. If you look at them you would think a drunk man built them. But they were built that way on purpose. The way the steps were built you could not run up and down them hurrying in and out of the Holy place of worship. You had to focus on each step, because if you didn't you could easily loose your balance and fall. You had to intentionally go up the steps, you had to focus on what you were doing. It took time to get to there, but that was the point. They had to to want it, they had to mean it.
Christianity was never intended to be something that was done half-hearted. The early followers lived knowing they could be put to death, they were serious about the relationship they were a part of, a relationship we are called to be part of.
Alvin Reid said, "Living the Christian life is not hard. It is impossible unless we do it with God's strength." The beauty of a relationship is that we are not in it alone. We are not walking into new territory that has never been explored. Jesus said that his yolk is light, a yolk is made for two, he is there to carry it with us. The journey we're are on, that journey that leads to the throne of God, is one that Christ walked first. The cross of Jesus paved the way back to the father.
Christianity was never intended to be something we could simply walk through and go through the motions. It was, and remains to be, something that requires all of us. Paul said in Philippians 3,
"But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.
Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus. Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus."
I think that is what Christianity is about. So are you practicing a religion or are you engaged in a relationship?
Jesus never called us to be a part of a religion. I do not think that what Western Christianity has become is what he had in mind 2000 years ago. Jesus did not go around saying to people, "Hey, I'm going to start this thing called Christianity. In it we meet Sunday morning, Sunday night, and Wednesday evening. We get together for an hour at a time, talk about something I said, and then go home and chill until the next meeting. You should check it out." As he walked along the dusty roads of the Middle East his message was not one of mediocrity, but one of urgency, "Repent, for the Kingdom of heaven is near!" His message did not call us to simply walk along the shore of a shallow gently flowing creek, but to dive into the middle of a rapidly flowing river.
Christianity was not intended to be a religion. In a religion you can walk through the motions, unaware of what it going on. It is so easy to get caught in a routine and simply go with the flow. This is the ticket to heaven idea, you get saved to not go to hell, and that's all it is about. But this thing called Christianity is so much more than that. We are pardoned to participate as my theology teacher so frequently said. Salvation is not fire insurance, it is a passport, it calls us to go, it allows us to be involved, not in a religion, but in a relationship. If you are really in a relationship you can't just walk through it mindlessly. You cannot simply go through the motions, a relationship takes more than that, it requires more than that.
A relationship demands that we actively engage in it daily, that we don't settle with and grow complacent, but that we hunger and yearn to make it last, to grow closer to the one we are in a relationship with. You have to be starving for it. I have heard people quote verses from Jeremiah 29, "Seek me and you will find me" and James 4, "Draw near to God and he will draw near to you," they sound so simple, but that is not the entirety of the verses. We leave off the parts that call us to action, that call us out of religion and into relationship.
Jeremiah 29.13, "You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart."
James 4.8, "Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded."
We are called to action, we are called to do something. God says, "I want you, I want you so badly. I sent my son to die on a cross for you. But because of that, you need to want me just as badly. You need to chase after me like I have chased after you. You need to pursue me like I have pursued you. Nothing less than all of you will work."
The steps of the Temple in Jerusalem were built in an awkward way. If you look at them you would think a drunk man built them. But they were built that way on purpose. The way the steps were built you could not run up and down them hurrying in and out of the Holy place of worship. You had to focus on each step, because if you didn't you could easily loose your balance and fall. You had to intentionally go up the steps, you had to focus on what you were doing. It took time to get to there, but that was the point. They had to to want it, they had to mean it.
Christianity was never intended to be something that was done half-hearted. The early followers lived knowing they could be put to death, they were serious about the relationship they were a part of, a relationship we are called to be part of.
Alvin Reid said, "Living the Christian life is not hard. It is impossible unless we do it with God's strength." The beauty of a relationship is that we are not in it alone. We are not walking into new territory that has never been explored. Jesus said that his yolk is light, a yolk is made for two, he is there to carry it with us. The journey we're are on, that journey that leads to the throne of God, is one that Christ walked first. The cross of Jesus paved the way back to the father.
Christianity was never intended to be something we could simply walk through and go through the motions. It was, and remains to be, something that requires all of us. Paul said in Philippians 3,
"But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.
Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus. Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus."
I think that is what Christianity is about. So are you practicing a religion or are you engaged in a relationship?
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