"For it is: do and do, do and do, rule on rule, rule on rule; a little here, a little there."
Isaiah 28:10
I have been a Christian for 36 years. Two years ago, I discovered that I have lived most of my Christian life stuck in a problem. The problem was religion. Have you noticed that many people, when they discover you are a Christian, will call you 'religious?' There is a vast difference between being a Christian and being religious.
When Jesus was ministering on the earth, he was not opposed by the government or the ungodly people of the day. He was opposed, beaten, tortured and killed by the religious community. This is because religion opposes everything Christ stands for.
In my life, the religion I had embraced, had been taught to me by men. They were good men and they did not intend to teach evil. In fact, they taught good things. But I took these things and built my life around them. These religious things required me to DO things for God in order to earn his love and respect. It required me to follow rules that were instituted by men. These rules continually reminded me that if I participated in something that was outside the rule, I would surely die. Therefore, I lived in a constant state of feeling like a failure, because I could not follow the rules adequately.
Then one day, two years ago, God used this very scripture from Isaiah 28 to show me that I had allowed religion to grow bigger in my life than my relationship with him. That day, I repented and experienced a freedom that has moved me into a whole new life. My life is found in Christ, not religion. He is liberating. He is forgiving. He is altogether loving. Having a relationship with him is incomparable to anything else.
Today, examine your Christianity. Are you head over heels in love with Jesus, or are you living by a set of rules, dos and don'ts, and meager expectations? Find out who you are in Christ, eliminate the rest, and experience the overwhelming freedom found in the simplicity of relationship with Jesus.
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