I have always tried to explain when asked, that what I believe matters most to God is a relationship with Him and not being bound and entangled in religion which I believe has been interpreted over time to suit various desires.
In a relationship, you seek to know more about your partner, the one whom you love and you try to mould and build your relationship based on that knowledge. Even God according to the bible relates with us as He made us, never forgetting our weaknesses and never holding out on His love for us.
'for
he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust.'
Psalms
103:14 NIV
'But from everlasting to everlasting the
Lord’s love is with those who fear him, and his righteousness with their
children’s children— with those who keep his covenant and remember to obey his
precepts.'
Psalms 103:17-18 NIV
God our creator knows how He made us; what He
made us from and asking for nothing other than a life of love and
service to one another and for us His creation to acknowledge and love Him
back rather than set up false man-made gods and worship those instead.
Man-made gods doesn't necessarily have to be
rocks, statues, ornaments or any physical objects, it could be delicately
intangible things like trauma, loss, heartbreak, religion anything that we can
use as a reason to separate us from God or stand as God in our lives. It could even be self.
'Who shall separate us from the love of
Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or
danger or sword?'
Romans 8:35 NIV
Why hold a grudge against a God who would sacrifice His only son to redeem us to Himself and give us hope of eternal life in Him. A grudge could also stand in our way and unintendedly become a god we serve. We begin to worship it, feed it and give it a lot of attention even though we know it serves us no purpose and rather remains an obstacle to us deepening our relationship with God.
'No, in all these things we are more than
conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor
life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any
powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be
able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.'
Romans 8:37-39 NIV
God loves us dearly and that is why He gave us the free will to choose to love Him back, not being forced but choosing to with all our heart, soul, mind and strength.
'Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If
anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with
him, and he with me.'
Revelation 3:20 ESV
'If you love me, keep my commands.' - John 14:15 NIV
Focus on the key word 'If' in both verses immediately above - If we choose to not accept God as our maker, and His only Son, Jesus as our Lord and Saviour, that doesn't mean He'll set us up to fail or turn our lives upside down. It only means we have put ourselves in a space where other things that are not of God can take priority and thus cause us to start making choices that may not be in accordance with His will for us.
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A relationship with God helps to keep our eyes and attention on Him which guides the choices we make, gives us grace and strength to fight through battles that life will throw our way and give us a hope of eternal life when this journey called life is done. There is no guarantee in the bible or from our fathers and mothers who have come before us, that life will be smooth sailing, absolutely not, but with God, we can hold on to our faith that He will guide us through and give us purpose through any pain or suffering we may experience.
A religion on the other hand, in my opinion is a
mandatory conformity to a prescribed way of life whether you understand it or
not. It could be punitive especially when you break set rules and regulations
(mostly created by a fellow man) or you are seen as having an opinion outside
of what has been set.
It's a do as I say situation without questions
being asked.
It could be restrictive.
It is largely centred on man-made philosophical
concepts which is more often than not based on vanity and the things of the
world.
In religion, focus of worship is quick to shift
from God to worldly things and even ourselves.
I remember all the drama in some churches I attended back in Nigeria, especially where they have groups: it usually becomes a contest for
the most affluent group, members more concerned about showing off
expensive clothes and jewellery at any given opportunity. It even became a contest for who was able to throw the grandest
wedding for their children. Woe and shame upon the member that is unable to
afford this lifestyle. Some people have left churches because of this vain acts.
I believe that most people run away from these churches and from knowing God because they do not want to be bound by the shackles of religion. I've heard stories of people who stopped going to church because when they were kids, their parents were excommunicated because of some mistake that had been made.
Religion binds us with rules, relationship binds us with love.
Religion in my opinion is like a forced
marriage, to someone you have no knowledge of. You may gradually grow to love
them or totally detest them and want to break free. I remember some neighbours
we had when I was younger who had nothing but a transistor radio in their
living room as they were forbidden from owning a TV - a church rule. As if that
wasn't bad enough, they couldn't wear any adornment except for a wristwatch and
also nothing that could be considered fancy or make them look desirable. The kids in
that home always looked so unkempt and unhappy!
One of my flatmates in my early years in
university went to a similar church and within weeks she had swapped her baggy
dresses for Jeans and T-shirts, and started wearing jewellery and make-up.
Well, her fellow church members immediately summoned her parents to start an
intervention. It was a real-life comedy!
My love for God comes from my understanding of who He is, and the sacrifice made at Calvary. I chose to love God, not forced to by anyone and that's how it should be in every relationship.
I had a good laugh today as I'd read a tweet
from someone who said they were OK with Jesus Christ but had an axe to grind with
God, His Father! I can't remember what they were accusing God of tbh! I honestly don't even know where to begin to address that – I hope the person remembers there is something called the Blessed Trinity? God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. So do we separate one from the other?! But really, the point here is that we are
allowed the freedom to choose to feel that way with God, when we hurt God sees
and cares, He welcomes us to challenge Him to prove He is God and according to
His words, He remembers He made us this way.
Relationship not Religion.
Love always
Ige.x