Relationship over Religion

A very controversial debate within Christianity, dating back to Elizabethan times, is whether we should focus on following rules or building a relationship with God. I know for a fact that building a relationship with God is what He wants. We won’t end up in Heaven because we abide by man-made rules, we will get there because we know God. There's a story that helped me grasp this. Imagine a well kept, morally upstanding man goes up to a mansion. He knocks on the door. “Who are you?” the owner of the house questions.

“Hi! I’m a really great guy. Can I come in?” the stranger replies.

“But I don’t know you. How can I let you into my house if I don’t know you?”

“Just trust me, I’m a stand-up guy!”

Do you get where I’m headed? If you don’t, what I’m trying to put across is this: we won’t get to Heaven based on how great we are (yes, we are called to be righteous, but not on our own! [Luke 19:10]), we can only achieve that if we have a relationship with God. We do this simply by getting to know Him; by spending time with Him and having silent moments worshipping and praying! I've been blessed with a mother who continuously taught me about prioritising relationship over religion. She taught me that, in getting to know God, I will follow His rules subconsciously because of how He changes my heart. A Bible verse that used to make me anxious was Matthew 7:21-23 (ESV) “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.” This means that just because we do good deeds, doesn’t mean we’re going to Heaven. In fact, when we are “rule-oriented” we miss the whole point of Christianity and focus on the destination instead of just knowing God. We must have a relationship with our Father in Heaven just like all the great people in the Bible.

We’ve established that we need a relationship with God but something that comes with all relationships is commitment. This takes You to the next level of your journey with Christ. Being in a marriage means that you are committed to your spouse. In the same way, being in a relationship with God means that you should be committed to Him. To be committed (by definition) is: “the state or quality of being dedicated to a cause, activity, etc.” A real turning point in my relationship with God was realising that I can’t just put on the “Christian” label and go on living an ungodly lifestyle.

“Ungodly” might sound like partaking in a bunch of terrible sins but in truth all sins are ungodly. From disobeying your parents to lying. Romans 10:9 (NIV) is one of the most hopeful verses in the Bible “If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” When I would hear this verse as a saved child I would think “Hey, I’m covered. Now I can sit back, live life and when judgment day comes, I get a free pass!” I honestly thought this and I lived with that mentality until very recently, to be frank, and I know that a lot of people think this way as well.

During the times when I had this reasoning, I heard a lady preach about how just because we are saved, doesn’t mean we’ll get to Heaven. That was quite a shocking thing for me to hear and I believed that it was utterly ridiculous. Now that I’m growing in faith, I know exactly what she meant. She wasn’t contradicting God’s immeasurable love. She wasn’t giving us conditions or criteria to get to Heaven and she wasn’t contradicting the verse. She was talking about commitment. You cannot call yourself an athlete because you work out once a month. A committed athlete would practice his or her sport at least once every day. In the same way, we shouldn’t claim the title of “Christian” unless we are committed. To be committed is to be all in. Not to dedicate one part of our lives to God but instead to give it all. Not one part of our minds, but all of it. For me, this is what the enemy used to keep me away from an inseparable relationship with God. The enemy used to make me believe that I don’t need to give it all up.

So how can you commit yourself to a relationship with Jesus? Dedicate yourself to Him. Give Him your heart and all your burdens. Give up what is dishonest and ungodly and focus your eyes on Him because all that God wants is your heart. When you think about it; Jesus died to have your heart. He died on the off chance that we would give up an enticing and evil lifestyle to spend eternity with Him. He is your loving Father and He cares about you.

It sounds so hard to fully commit, especially in the world we live in today. You cannot do it on your own so ask Jesus to give you the strength to carry on and not look back. Spend time in His Word because He speaks through it. Listen to some good worship music and just talk. Talk to Him because He wants to hear from you. Give God your heart, mind and body and watch His peace overwhelm you and always remember that He is rooting for You and He loves You.