Think about it: Religion vs. Relationship

There are two verses I want to share with you. First is in the New Testament, and later we will read the one from the Old Testament. Matthew 15:8-9 "These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men."

We seem to know people, and have ourselves been in the position of going to church, serving, giving, and doing all the right church stuff. But, something is missing with that. It is only by the Holy Spirit moving in us, because after all, since we have accepted the Lord and He has sent the Holy Spirit to live within us, somehow in the middle of this shallow life, when we hear and obey the Word of God, things come together. What we seem to have absorbed in our head, we never learned in our heart. But the difference comes when we are moved by the Holy Spirit to obedience.

Each day you and I, and many who are born again, spend a few minutes learning how to navigate life as His children. We tend to use our favorite daily devotional books, or sermons, or even music. But all that we hear is worthless if our hearts stay distanced from Jesus. It's not the devotion that motivates us to make it through one day or another. It’s a relationship with Him that He desires. Pretty little quotes to ponder and put into practice may be helpful, but it’s a relation-ship with Him that counts. Peace may make our lives more manageable or tolerable, but it’s the relationship with the Peacemaker that is needed. Do we yearn to look or feel better about ourselves? Or do we yearn to be more like Jesus, regardless of how that appears to others? What’s this Christian life all about? It should be about Jesus and knowing Him a little more every day. What is it He wants from us? A relationship!

When building a relationship with a friend or neighbor, it takes time, getting to know one another, sharing with one another, being open and honest, transparent with one another. It’s trusting and depending on one another. Well, the relationship we need to build with Jesus is the same. That cannot happen if we don’t spend the time and effort to strengthen the relationship. The relationship with a friend (and with Jesus) is a chosen relationship because we like, and come to love, the other. Then we want to spend time with them, live life with them, and help or serve them. That’s what friends are for.

Let’s now read the verse in the Old Testament I mentioned earlier. Isaiah 29:13, “The Lord says: 'These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is made up only of rules taught by men.”

Both verses say that our hearts are far from the Lord. The distance keeps us from building a healthy relationship with Him. Religion is made up of rules. Many try to follow the rules. Religion is made up of roles. Many try to play the role. The routine of keeping the rules and acting a certain way leaves one with a shallow, systematic feeling, but certainly not a strong faith! The difference in knowing Jesus, really knowing Him, is that we choose to follow Jesus and build a rapport, a relationship, with Him. In time, we will have the faith to let Him lead us and we will follow. I recently read that “if you want to grow closer to God, you must distance yourself from distractions.” Jesus, himself, did this when He removed himself from the throngs of people following Him and went to a quiet place to pray. Ahh…..

Simply put…

Rules & Roles = Routine Religion. On the other hand, Rapport = Relationship!
(Okay, rapport may not be the best description, but it at least starts with the letter ‘R’!)