Religion vs. Relationship

Most people who are not Christians think that Christianity is a religion. They don't realize that it is a relationship. Like any other relationship, there are things we need to do to respond to the other person in order to make the relationship work. We say we want a relationship with God, but we never go to his house (church), we never share a meal with him (communion/Lord's supper), we never talk to him (prayer), we never read his letters (Bible), we refuse to associate with his friends and family (Christians), we never tell him we love him (worship/praise), we never do anything that he asks us to do (love him and love others). And there is the ultimate thing we do to squelch the relationship; we refuse to accept his beloved son (Jesus Christ).

Yet, in completely rejecting God, we still want to rely on him in a crisis (illness, loss of a loved one, breakup of a relationship, threat of death). Because the love of God cannot be changed or broken by our reaction to him, he still responds to us; he still reaches out to us; he still loves us. But since we have had little or no contact with him for years, we don't recognize his voice, and so we think that he is not there.

He is the one who initiates every relationship. He showers us with gifts, he talks to us, he comforts us, he gets us out of trouble, he brings people into our lives to love us, he actually goes so far as to die for us. The only thing he asks of us is to believe him, to trust him; and isn't that what we want out of our human relationships – that our friends will trust us and will respond to us in love. And what he asks us to believe is that his son is "the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the father except through him."

That is why, at the end of our lives, we are going to say, "but, Lord, I lived a good life, better than most. I didn't kill anyone, I only cheated a little, and told a few white lies; I never hurt anyone on purpose. Why won't you accept me?" And the Lord is going to have to answer and say, "my child, I am sorry, I never knew you." And we won't be able to deny it – we rejected him our whole lives, so we know it's true. He wanted us to get to know him, but we refused. Those who accepted God's son and got to know him are the only ones who have a relationship with him.
This is the essence of Christianity; it is a real relationship, not a religion or a set of rules to be followed.

(c)firstIMPRESSIONS, Volume 8.01. Live for God, on purpose, because you love Him, and you want to please Him.