Religion vs Relationship

A showdown for the ages

Often times our understanding of what it means to be a “Christian”, will change depending on our circumstances or our church denomination. We in the modern church, attempt to create a false dichotomy between our relationship with Christ and the religion he calls us to follow, as if the two are somehow mutually exclusive.

Now, it should be stated at the outset that when we say “religion” in the modern church, we are typically referring to legalistic standards and commandments asserted in the Bible. You can even find more ultra-modern Christian circles using “religion” derogatorily, as if the entire notion has grown outdated. However, there’s a great definition provided by political commentator Michael Knowles.

“Religion is a habit of virtue that inclines the will to give God what he deserves.”

I have no doubts that he read this from some religious thinker in ancient history, but, embarrassingly enough, I first heard it on a podcast. In order to make my self seem more intelligent, I will be pretending that I actually read this in an obscure religious text from antiquity, and I can’t recall the name since I read it in the original Latin.

Now, even for “Red-Letter Christians” there is no denying that there are several commandments for us to follow. Yet somehow we have adopted the notion that Jesus is our friend, brother, father or whatever makes me feel better right now. God is one that does not need my actions or my futile attempts at perfection because his love is strong enough to reach me. I don’t need to reach him. I only need to work on my “relationship” with God, and this will get me to heaven.

For those who were not raised in a modern Christian culture, these terms may seem arbitrary and that’s because they sometimes are. The poetic diction employed by the biblical authors, especially in the Old Testament, can be confusing at first glance. (What does it mean for my soul to sing or my heart to cry out?) Yet through deeper study, we can see that these phrases and terms were all grounded upon centuries of wisdom regarding the nature of God and man.

So what does it mean to have a relationship with God? And what does it mean to work on it? If we hardly know how to work on our relationships with those that are standing right in front of us, how can we be expected to repair this relationship with a God that we can’t even see? No matter what platitudes we recite, we cannot continue to pretend that our relationship with God is the same as our relationships with other people. Yes, it is true that we CAN talk to God, but we will not always be spoken back to. If I am feeling down, I can go to my friends and family and feel their presence in a way that I cannot feel with God while I am on this earth.

It seems to follow that the remedies required to repair our relationship with a supernatural being are different than those we may use to repair our relationships on earth. If only there were some instructions or guidance we could access that may help us understand. Maybe communion is not some stupid ritual that gives us a reason to have a snack during service, but rather it could be an integral factor in this relationship that I’ve been wanting to work on. Maybe the name “communion” was not accidental. We have become hyper-fixated on what is “theologically necessary” for a Christian life that we forget everything else.

I don’t believe that you need communion, or baptism, or scripture memorization to get to heaven. To be honest, I would venture to say that heaven is much easier for us to reach then we think and much harder to lose than we deserve. Although eternal security is important and is obviously worth pondering, perhaps those of us that call ourselves Christians have mistaken heaven for the God who created it. Your religious traditions do not please heaven. Neither does your reverence for the word or your respect for the spiritual authorities in your life. All the same, you are called to a religious life holy and pleasing to God.

Heaven will be pleasing to you. While you’re here put in the effort to please the one who will get you there. Heaven was never the goal, but rather we should simply seek to commune with God. Don’t wait until you’re dead to make that happen, but love God now AND follow his commandments. Not because it’s necessary, but because you are blessed with an opportunity to serve the one from which all your blessings derive.

“In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds.”

‭‭James‬ ‭2‬:‭17‬-‭18‬ ‭NIV‬‬