Religion or Relationship?
‘These people draw near to Me with their mouth, And honor Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me. (Matthew 15:8)
I woke up one morning and these words were in my spirit. Religion or relationship?
As I pondered the words in my heart, I began to evaluate my own self and my children to find out what we have been studying. You see, like myself, my children have been in church for approximately seven years and in those years we learned a multitude of traditions and rituals but as my children got older and I looked at them, it was becoming harder and harder for them to do what I was expecting them to do.
We were taught the traditions of men, jumping and dancing and spinning around in church and shouting and praising and so we happily adapted to those teachings. Now my children seem so disconnected from all theses things. Even when they were in church it was becoming progressively harder for them to do certain things that were 'expected' of them. Pretty soon, I started looking at them like the church would look at anyone who was standing in the midst of all the 'praising' but was not moving a muscle, "Oh they must have a spirit on them." or "They are really disconnected from God." And so I found myself in the "judgment seat", judging, convicting and crucifying my children because they were not obeying the "LAWS" of church going.
Now don't get me wrong I love to praise and worship the Lord, but my worship cannot be turned on and off by some organ player and choir director. My worship comes from within and is directed by the move of the Holy Spirit who lives within me and therefore it is not confined to fifteen minutes on a Sunday morning or on cue by the worship leader. So as I was freed from the traditions of men, It was my desire to free my children as well.
In our morning bible study time I have been led by the Lord to become intentional with teaching them the characteristics of "relationship" as opposed to the traditions of men found in "religion." I stopped pressuring them to get into what was known as "praise mode" because one should not be made to worship, but worship should be cultivated through time spent with the Lord and reading and receiving HIS word - only then, will worship be manifested as the product of relationship with CHRIST.
When we have illuminated the characteristics of a true relationship spiritually with Christ, then it becomes easier for us to cultivate healthy and long lasting, genuine relationships with other human beings. Remember, everything that we see on this earth is just a shadow of what has already taken place in the spirit realm. Therefore, if you see legalism and religion in your earthly life commitments, then it's only a reflection on the legalistic religious interaction you are having with GOD.
And in vain they worship Me,
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