I love when we get together with friends and our conversation focuses on our relationship with the Lord!
For so many years I lived by religious rules. Church attendance was required. There was Sunday morning, Sunday night, Wednesday night and the reoccurring youth get togethers. Sad to say most of it was a religious act and didn’t build my relationship with the Lord. It didn’t matter that through the week I felt lonely, out of the inner circle and abandon. There was an ache in my heart a deeper connection with the Lord and I wasn’t finding it.
“Everything and everyone that the Father has given me will come to me, and I won’t turn any of them away.” John 6:37 CEV
Last night we visited with friends and shared from the heart about our walk with the Lord. We have been in churches and religious surroundings where we were treated like outcasts. But you know what? We were in good company because Jesus faced the same treatment from the religious rulers of His day.
“God blesses those people who are treated badly for doing right. They belong to the kingdom of heaven.11 God will bless you when people insult you, mistreat you, and tell all kinds of evil lies about you because of me. 12 Be happy and excited! You will have a great reward in heaven. People did these same things to the prophets who lived long ago.” Matthew 5:10-12 CEV
Jesus faced down the religion of His day. The religious leaders said he was unfit because He ate with sinners and the lower class of society. Jesus’ response was: “I came to seek and to save those who are lost”. Religion and their opinions didn’t stop Him.
It shouldn’t stop us either.
We have pharisees living among us and at times, if we aren’t careful, we could act just like them. We judge because of someone’s appearance and/or lifestyle. But that’s not God’s way. God looks at the heart and to Him sin is sin, no big sins or little sins – just sin.
“They kept on asking Jesus about the woman. Finally, he stood up and said, ‘If any of you have never sinned, then go ahead and throw the first stone at her! 8′ Once again he bent over and began writing on the ground.” John 8:7-8 CEV
“If you obey every law except one, you are still guilty of breaking them all. ” James 2:10 CEV
Religion judges. Relationship forgives and restores.
“Christ died for us at a time when we were helpless and sinful. 7 No one is really willing to die for an honest person, though someone might be willing to die for a truly good person. 8 But God showed how much he loved us by having Christ die for us, even though we were sinful.” Romans 5:6-8 CEV
Let’s cultivate relationship with our loving and forgiving heavenly Father and stay away from religious judgements.