As Christians, doesn’t it often seem like we are constantly doing one of two things, either keeping our past at bay or simply making sure our future is secure?
Growing in the life of faith means moving forward. Moving forward means things change. It means not everything we once believed, did, said or acted out remains true. Hearts change when faith is allowed to germinate inside us. And it’s messy. It looks different from person to person despite the commonalities we find along the way.
Many of those close to us don’t want to see that change occur when suddenly we are vocal about our faith. It can force them to look within their own hearts and that is a difficult, albeit impossible, thing to do if you are not ready and willing for whatever is revealed. That is where our “past” creeps up as a distraction. And we all have a past. There is a battle to genuinely express our new beginnings while constantly having to overcome the ingrained images others have of us because of things in our rearview mirror, but not necessarily in theirs.
We are all in different places and face different challenges and struggles. And sometimes, we are even led to different places while right in the middle of that journey — new understandings, revised opinions, different standards or deeper understanding of what is at the heart of faith and how it relates to our circumstances and our situations.
As for the future, “salvation insurance” describes a lot of how Christians view their faith or at least act it out. It is partly a product of being raised in a Western culture church home, whatever denomination. Those where it’s standard to learn the basic stories of the Bible while memorizing John 3:16 before professing the faith necessary for admission into an enjoyable eternity as opposed to the alternative. Christianity is taught as a “religion” and a fear of the alternative fate instead of a “relationship” and something that uniquely grows and connects us with our Creator and leads us to who we are meant to become.
When we grow older, a cynical world takes its toll and as innocence fades, the stories of the Bible lose their childlike hold. Some even question their validity and “realistic” feasibility and use that as an excuse to avoid relationship. Doubt is masked as tolerance. Forming no strong worldview is masked as being “open-minded.” In the world’s mindset, it’s better to believe everyone can do as they want and take no stand on real truth, so long as they are not hurting someone else. There is a freedom to create our own rules as we see fit.
And it’s hard to compete against that thinking when it is so fully ingrained in our marketing, entertainment and the largest cultural influences that exist today and continually bombard us. Even pastors and church leaders often bombard us with their seminary/Bible college-ingrained theology that doesn’t always hit the mark even when it is impossible to argue against when untrained in such study and verbiage.
Theology does indeed reveal powerful truth that reflects current cultural circumstances. But other times, it blatantly ignores the different climate of today’s world while holding tightly to teachings to a much different world and society (yes, even though the Word itself is God-breathed). And people get confused, so they often just ignore it all.
Religion has ZERO chance against the temptations of the world. But relationship does. In fact, it is the only chance of survival.
Relationship is found in the line between the past and the future — how we live out our faith in the “present.”
It cannot be found Sunday to Sunday (or Saturday to Saturday) nor can it be found only on Easter and Christmas. It is cultivated in the days between the gathering place where you publicly show yourself as a “faith member” to look like part of the club.
Relationship is not “doing” something and checking it off a list. That’s religion.
Religion is not wrestling with God and discovering truth personally. That’s relationship.
Relationship is not concerned with tradition and rules above intimacy and discovery. That’s religion.
Religion is not understanding that God is real and active in your life and the circumstances around it. That’s relationship.
So, find out where you are between those Sundays or Saturdays and you’ll learn whether you are a religious Christian or a relationship Christian. It’s not a matter of salvation, per se, but it is a matter of living life in authentic faith (when strong and yes, even when weak) or living with the comfort of religion to just get by “in case” that insurance is needed on Judgment Day.
Your call…
