Hebrews 10:5-7 (NIV): Therefore, when Christ came into the world, he said: “Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me; with burnt offerings and sin offerings you were not pleased. Then I said, ‘Here I am–it is written about me in the scroll– I have come to do your will, O God.'”
It is very easy to reduce the Christian faith to a series of observances. To count our faithfulness in terms of the number of worship services attended, the amount of money given, or the number of ministries participated in. But by using that standard, we reduce the Christian faith to a mere religion.
Christianity was never designed to be a religion, even though that is frequently the way that it is seen and practiced by many. The very core of Christianity is mankind being restored to relationship with God through the death and resurrection of Jesus. It is the restoration of God’s image in mankind as the first step in making ALL things new. It is the removal of all that mars God’s original creation through the agency of men, women, and even children who live day by day in His presence. There is no religion in the world that can accomplish all of that!
As always, Jesus is the model. When He came, it was not to show people how to offer better sacrifices in the temple. It was not to demonstrate how to better sing songs of praise. Jesus did observe all of the legitimate demands of the law, but the key thing that He really showed people was how to live life in complete communion with God, by wholeheartedly living in obedience, not just to His commandments, but to His will, as He guided moment by moment. “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does.” (John 5:19 NIV) At its core, He did not demonstrate religion to God’s people, but relationship.
It has been said that if people live in constant relationship with God, their actions will be the same as a religious person; only the motive will be different. But the truth is that, even though some of the actions might be the same, the person who lives in relationship with God, the one who is focused on doing His will every moment, will demonstrate a power and effectiveness in bringing the kingdom of God into contact with the people of this world that the religious person cannot even understand. That was why Jesus and His followers were so hated by the religiously observant people of their day. Jesus and His disciples demonstrated God’s power, even to the point of performing mighty miracles, while the Scribes, the Pharisees, and the Sadducees were observant, but completely powerless.
In short, it is not the religiously observant person through whom God will bring His kingdom into reality, reshaping the world and redeeming mankind. It is through those with whom He has a powerful, day-by-day, moment-by-moment relationship; those whose whole focus in life is to consistently do His will.
Father, save us from a dead religion that is observant but powerless. Instead, help us to live in such powerful relationship with You, today and every day, that we move at the slightest impulse of Your Spirit to do Your will. May Your kingdom be manifested in us each day as a living reality. Amen.