I have tried to live a perfect life.
I have tried to not say things that hurt others.
I have tried to not watch shows, movies, etc. that people said I shouldn’t because I would be displeasing to God.
I have tried to not listen to music that others said was evil and would make God angry with me.
I have tried to live according to the rules and regulations that I was told would make God happy.
I have tried to be a good religious person.
I have tried to stand up for what I was told was the right thing and the right way.
I have tried.
I HAVE FAILED!!!!!
If you are like me, you have tried to live perfect, be holy, and live according to all the rules and regulations Christians are supposed to in order to be “good Christians.” The problem though is that NONE of us are ever really successful. We pretend we are (like I used to), we tell others that we are (when we are really lying), and we do our best to convince ourselves that we are (when in reality we are more bound then before we came to Christ).
I get it. I understand why we try. We are told from a young age that in order to please God we have to do this or that, or live a certain way, but in reality knowing and pleasing God is not about rules, regulations, what we watch or don’t watch, what we listen to, or even how much we read the Bible or not. Knowing God is really all about relationship!!
Life really is all about Jesus and knowing Him. While we should strive to do good and live a life that is pleasing to God. God will still love us even if we don’t. Even if we fail (and we will). God will love us even if we don’t read the Bible everyday or pray everyday!! Are these things good? Of course!! But God did not intend for them to become things that bind us to a set of rules, but things that cause us to flow in the Freedom of growing in our relationship with Him. I have tried being that “good Christian,” guy that I was supposed to be, and found that I had given up my freedom to live in intimacy with God, for a system of rules not based on God, but on what man though God wanted.
I have wrestled with the thoughts of my heart and how I was supposed to live a life I knew I couldn’t. I was told to “fake it until you make it.” The problem though, is that WE NEVER MAKE IT!!! We NEVER end up becoming what we are told we will become. We are told that if we read the Bible everyday, have a quit time of at least 15 minutes, don’t grossly sin, don’t watch rated R movies, don’t listen to secular music, etc. we will become this “Super Saint,” that will change the world for Jesus!! Yet, it NEVER happens.
What usually happens is that most of us give up trying and quit our relationship with God all together. While I have never gotten to the point of abandoning Christ, I have spent times away from the Church. However, what I learned was this: The same people that I see in Church are all like me!! Every person that goes into a Church, including the man or woman speaking are ALL imperfect messes tying to figure out what to do with our sin and imperfection. While some think that living according to a strict set of rules is what they need to do (and what they tell others to do), some find that just taking each day at a time and being real and honest with God is the best approach.
I think that is what I have found. I can’t be religious anymore. Frankly, I don’t want to be religious. I don’t want a set of rules. I just want Jesus. I just want to take one day at a time and grown in my walk with Him. I want to learn more about Him. I want to be real with Him about my sin, my brokenness, my pain. I want to be transparent with Him and those around me because I believe there are others like me who just need someone to tell them it’s okay for your life to be jacked up………..Jesus still loves you!!
Am I perfect? No. But Jesus inside me is and that’s what matters. Jesus paid the debt I owed and I am now DEBT FREE!! God doesn’t look down from heaven trying to figure out how He can “get me” for the things I have done today that hurt others, myself, or even God. NO WAY!! God looks down from heaven like I look at my kids, with a heart of love and compassion, desiring that they know I love them and want the absolute best for them!! That no matter what they do I will ALWAYS love them!!
Will we wrestle with sin still? Yeah, we will. God will continue to refine us and purify us as we follow after Him. Here’s the kicker though: God is the one what deals with us!! We don’t have to worry about Him being mad or angry. He is Kind, Gentle, Loving, and Full of Grace and Mercy!!! Since this IS the case we can come to Him and lay all of our burdens and weights at His feet for He can carry them!! We can come to Him and talk and be healed, set free, and delivered from the things that destroy us. We can come to Him and laugh, cry, vent, rejoice, yell, be still, worship, and just spend time getting to know Him.
How do we do these things? Well, I think it’s more then just a 15 minute quite time. I think we can make our life be an ongoing relationship experience with God. We can read the Bible and meditate over what we read. Write out what He is speaking to us. Journal. Spend time just being quite before God in an attitude of prayer. We can pray about needs, for people, situations, etc. We can listen to preaching and teaching on our ipods. We can listen to worship music, fellowship with other believers, and worship with other followers of Jesus at Church. We can live a life of continuous seeking in the midst of our daily lives, where it goes from being a must do, to a want to.
I tried religion. I think I will take relationship.
Until next time,
Shawn
Your right, it’s not about religion, it’s about redemption. I don’t ask people if their religious, I want to know if they’ve been redeemed.
I do think your need to be careful. Reading some of what you right it almost seems as if your downplaying the importance of reading your Bible and spending time in prayer. That is the relationship God wants with us. We are to strive to pray without ceasing. We are to study to show ourselves approved unto God.
A lot of people look at the Bible as the Word of truth, but it’s much more than that. The Bible is not only filled with truths, it’s equally filled with commandments. The Bible commands us to read our Bible, to pray, to not touch the unclean things, to stay out of the paths of the wicked, and so on and so on……..
You can’t just throw out the commandments of his word. Those people that told you what movies not to watch, what music not to listen to, what places not to go, if it’s in line with the teaching of the Bible, they were right.
But God also knows the motivations of our heart. We need be holy as God is holy. We need to live a separated life because God commanded us to in his word.
Keeping fighting the good fight.
While I understand your concern let me assure you that I am not saying people shouldn’t read the Bible or pray. What I am saying is that if we are just going through the motions to live up to some religious obligation we are wasting our time. We should want to read the Bible to grow our relationship with God, not for some kind of man induced spiritual exercise that is only meant to make us fit guilty if we don’t do it.
As far as the commandments go and your saying: “The Bible commands us to read our Bible, to pray, to not touch the unclean things, to stay out of the paths of the wicked, and so on and so on……..”
I would have to disagree with. First the Bible doesn’t say or command us to read it. Should we? Yes. Is it mandatory? No. However, I do see where we need it to keep His precepts in our hearts. God doesn’t say we are evil if we don’t read the Bible. I mean what of those who have no Bible? As far as “touching no unclean thing” that is OT and not even relevant. If that is the case why did Jesus touch the leaper? To “stay out of the paths of the wicked” I find is an excuse for Christians to not be involved in the lives of the lost. Should we do the things they are doing? No. But we should very much be involved in their lives. Jesus was.
I agree with being holy. Yet, I can’t be holy. Only Jesus in me can do that. As far as separated from the world. I think we misinterpret that verse. We should not be a part of the evil activities of the word but we must reach out to the lost.
Thanks for your comment!! Continue to seek first His Kingdom!!
Shawn
Hey Shawn,
I agree with a lot of things that you said, even though there are some that I’m not too clear on. You said that you can’t be holy but through the Holy Spirit we can live a holy life. If I’m not mistaken in James or 1 John it tells us that we should not sin, but that if we sin we can come to God through Jesus Christ and He is faithful and He will forgive us. God has given you the ability of living a godly and holy life. In Hebrew it says that without holiness no one can see the Father. If you go through the different letters in the NT you will see that they call the members of the church “Saints,” not because they tried really hard and actually made it. But Saint because they had been washed with the blood of the Lamb of God and they were purified from all wickedness and through the Holy Spirit they lead a holy life. This is possible, but I most say that it’s not by our own strenght but through the Holy Spirit. I agree with your point of the unclean thing, and reaching out to the world but not doing what it does. However, I somewhat not entirely disagree with the Bible and praying comment. In the Bible it says that we should be earnestly praying everyday. I mean, imaging being married and never talking to your wife, but you still love her? In a relationship the most important factor is the communication. And for us to have a true relationship with God we need to have a good communication, that being talking to Him (praying) or learning about Him (Bible) and also throughout the day we also grow in different cincurstances in our relationship with God.
And about the music, shows etc… I don’t think we should be watching or listening to anything that doesn’t please God. If it wouldn’t please Jesus then why would it please us if He lives in us and we love Him?
people are stupid