relationship over religion.

If you read my last blog post where I talked about a few life lessons I have learned, one thing I mentioned was the importance of having a relationship with Jesus. I am not an expert on this by any means, but I wanted to go a little more in depth about what I have learned over the years!

I have grown up going to church my entire life. I am extremely fortunate that my parents taught me the importance of loving God, loving others, and doing the right thing. Individuals who taught Sunday school, youth group, and regular church services helped foster my love for the Lord, background knowledge of the Bible, and desire to serve others. I could not be more thankful to have such a strong foundation and community of believers.

But, I realize now that when I was younger, I had an immature understanding of what Christianity was all about. I had it all backwards. It wasn’t until I grew older and became more passionate about God and the Word and until I went to college, really, that my perspective began to shift.

I had heard all my life, “do the right thing! Live for God! Stray away from sin! If you’re a Christian, you must do this, and this, and this!”

Those teachings are not incorrect. As Christians, we are called to stand out and stand up for Christ (Matthew 5:16, Romans 12:2 ). We are called to strive for righteousness (2 Timothy 2:22). Christians are supposed to stray away from sin and not let their actions cause others to stumble (Romans 6 ).

I wouldn’t say I was misled; I would honestly say that I just did not fully understand what it meant to be a Christian.

I was under the impression that this Christianity thing was all up to me.

That Christianity was a set of rules and principles I had to try every single day to abide by and not break.

That I had to do the right thing in order for the Lord to love me.

That the more information I knew about the Bible, the more Bible verses I had memorized, and the more Gospel songs I knew made me better off than others who were not as knowledgeable.

That as long as I wasn’t lying, cheating, cursing, messing up, I was a good person! I was earning heaven!

That God hated me whenever I fell into temptation and sin. That He would love me again once I got my act back together. I just had to make sure I was living perfectly to impress Him and everyone else.

Right?

Wrong.

I had missed the whole point. I had been missing the freedom that God so graciously gives to everyone who calls upon His name and trusts in Him.

It wasn’t until the leader of the BCM at Brewton Parker College blatantly said, “We all suck. Even on our best day, we do not deserve to go to heaven. It doesn’t matter if you think you’re perfect; you’re still a sinner in need of a Savior” that it TRULY clicked in my head and in my heart.

We are ALL sinners in need of a Savior. We NEED God. It is Jesus who steps in the gap. Jesus earns heaven on our behalf, because He lived a perfect life and we cannot.

After that Monday night, my perspective shifted. I realized I had been living as a Pharisee. In Biblical times, a Pharisee was someone who strictly upheld the Jewish laws described in the Old Testament and condemned those who fell short. The thing is- they too were falling short. They were being hypocritical. Jesus even called them out on it (Matthew 23 ).

But, because of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, we are no longer under the old covenant law. However, Jesus’ sacrifice doesn’t mean that the laws and teachings found in the Old Testament should be disregarded; rather, He simply fulfilled the law (Matthew 5:17-20 ). So, instead of us having to make sure we follow the strict Levitical laws on a daily basis, we are to love the Lord and love people. These are the greatest two commandments (Matthew 22:36-40 ).

We have missed the fact that Christianity is more than strict religious rules and regulations. It is more than going to church on Sunday, making sure you do not curse, lie, steal, get drunk, and commit other sins so you can be a “good person”. When we stick to a checklist of do’s and don’t’s, we are relying on our own strength and capabilities rather than on the Lord.

It is okay to not be perfect. We can NEVER be perfect. It is okay to make mistakes; in our weakness and mess-ups, Jesus’ strength is perfected (2 Corinthians 12:1-10 ).

If you think you have messed up too much for Jesus to love and accept you, YOU HAVEN’T! There is no condemnation of those who love God and are in the Spirit (Romans 8 ).

Let's take a look at Galatians. I have been studying this book for the last week, as I was finishing up this post, and the messages aligned- it’s so crazy how God does stuff like that.

Through my study of Galatians, I learned about the importance of faith, how the gospel is for EVERYONE, and how we are saved by grace. The editors of my Bible include this explanation: “Galatians, which may be the earliest of Paul’s letters, is also his most intense, proclaiming the truth that sinners are justified and live godly lives by trusting in Jesus alone."

In Galatians 1-2, Paul touches on how the gospel of Christ is the one and true gospel and how he was transformed by it. He talks about how there is freedom from the law because Christ lives within him. Take a look at this devotional that is included in my Bible:

Isn’t that such great news?!? Our salvation is secure because of who God is- not because of who we are or what we do.

Now, some might read this explanation and think, “oh cool! So I can live however I want!”

Let me be clear- God’s abundant mercy and grace is not a permit for us to sin however we please, knowing in the back of our minds that we can just ask for forgiveness after we sin. That’s premeditated sin. That’s us simply choosing to take God’s forgiveness for granted. If we have a relationship with God, we should be convicted to not sin so freely.

This is where relationship over religion comes in (sorry it has taken this long to get to my main point- it’s the English degree in me.)

God intended for us to be in a relationship with Him. He loves us so much that He sacrificed His son for our sins and gives us freedom and eternal life. We do not have to earn it. We should just love and praise Him for it.

We are to do things out of our love for Him. Out of our reverence and honor for Him. Our lives should look different from nonbelievers because the Holy Spirit has transformed our hearts- not because we are trying to show off or earn God’s love. We are to walk by the spirit, not our flesh (Galatians 5:16 ) Our lives as Christians are supposed to be fruitful (Galatians 5:19-26 ). We aren't saved by good works, rather our good works should be a product of our faith and relationship with Jesus (James 2:14-26 ). We do not live by certain rules in order for Him to love us more- we keep His commandments because of our love for Him.

Think about the relationships you have with the people you love and cherish most. Your parents. Your siblings. Your significant other. Your friends. All of these relationships take effort, right? You strive to be kind to them. You want to make them proud. You go out of your way for them. You spend time with them, talk to them, work on strengthening your relationship daily. You do not want to disappoint them.

This is how God intended for us to be with Him- in fellowship and communion with Him.

Pray to Him. Worship Him. Try to glorify Him in all that you do. Consider Him and what He advises in every decision you make. Get into the Word. Meet with other believers. Seek Him over it all. We can never be perfect at doing this, but He is always there waiting with open arms. He is faithful. A life where you place your relationship with God over everything else is a life full of love and freedom.

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I hope this post was helpful and inspiring! Maybe you already have this perspective, or maybe these ideas are new to you- I am still learning and growing more myself, and I would love to hear your thoughts!

Also, if you do not consider yourself a believer in Christ and are curious about learning more, please do not hesitate to reach out and contact me!

Thank you so much for reading!! :)))