How “religious” are you? People who are
“religious” about reading my blog/devotion are wondering why they are getting a
“Monday Morning” blog on Tuesday.
People are “religious” about many things: sports, movies, TV, video games, traveling, and
shopping, hunting, fishing. You name it
and people can be very religious about it. But how religious are we when it
comes to our faith? If we are truly religious then our religion will be more of
a relationship than a religion. We all need to have and develop a relationship with Jesus that is free of
religion.
To be “religious” means to be connected to a church
denomination like Baptist, Catholic, or even Buddhist. But it also means to be obsessive
and passionate for something. If you “religiously” follow a football team or a
political candidate, you will do whatever you can to find out everything you
can about it or them.
So I go back to my original question. How “religious” are
you about your faith? Are you “religious” because you go to church every week?
Are you “religious” about being Baptist or Catholic or something else?
Faith requires a relationship not a religion. Paul
recognized this when he was writing to the church at Philippi. He was trying to
get them to get over their obsession with “religion.” Paul was “religious”
before he met Jesus. But then he realized, “At one time all
these things were important to me. But because of Christ, I decided that they
are worth nothing. Not only these things, but now I think that all things are
worth nothing compared with the greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.
Because of Christ, I lost all these things, and now I know that they are all
worthless trash. All I want now is Christ. I want to belong to him. In Christ I
am right with God, but my being right does not come from following the law. It
comes from God through faith. God uses my faith in Christ to make me right with
him.” (Philippians 3:7-9)
God changed a sinner
into a saint. God changed a “religious” man into a believer. Paul
was deeply religious before his conversion, but he relied on good works and his
own religious accomplishments to gain favor with God. When Jesus met Paul on
the road to Damascus, the future apostle learned that all of his “religious” passion
meant nothing. The only way for people to be acceptable before God is to
receive the saving grace of Jesus Christ. He replaces our sin nature with His
righteousness. And even though believers will sometimes make mistakes, our
heavenly Father remains patient and loving toward His children. He uses our
failures to teach us more about Himself and His ways.
What
is your outward “religion?” Eighty-five percent of Americans claim
Christianity. But confessing Christianity and confessing Christ are two
different things. Confessing Christ before people means having a relationship with
Jesus and bearing witness to others about Him and His salvation. That doesn’t
mean carrying a 20-pound Bible to work, or wearing a six-pound cross around
your neck at the mall. Confessing Christ means relating Him to others in the
normal flow of your life. If Christ is your Savior and Lord, confessing Him to
others is to be expected. And it’s just as certain He will confess you before
His Father. Be a “doer” of God's Word and not just “religious" about it.
