How You Can Move from Religion to
Relationship
“If you love me, keep my
commands.” - John 14:15
Neil Marten, a member of the
British Parliament many years ago, was once giving a group of his constituents
a tour of the Houses of Parliament. During the visit, the group happened to
meet the Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, who was adorned in the regalia
of his office.
When the Chancellor recognized
Marten among the group, he cried, “Neil!” Not daring to disobey the command,
the entire group of visitors quickly fell to their knees!
It can be easy to turn the
Christian life into nothing more than mindless religious obedience. Many
Christians pray not out of a heartfelt desire to communicate with God, but out
of duty. Others read their Bibles in order to check a box, not to discover the
will of God for their lives.
But our God is not a God who
simply wants mindless religious obedience. He wants us to obey out of a true
and sincere love for Him. Checking boxes makes us feel good sometimes, but it
completely misses the point of why we’re to obey in the first place.
Obey God out of love, not just
out of duty. Move from mindless religion to a real relationship with God by
making your obedience an overflow of your love for Christ!
Prayer Challenge
Pray that God would keep you
away from mindless obedience and would help you to obey Him because you love
Him.
Questions for Thought
When we try to obey God
mindlessly, are we living in a system based on grace or works? In which one of
these does God want you to live?
Think of
some areas of your life where your obedience has become religious or mindless.
How can you turn that back into heartfelt obedience out of love?