It’s good to go to church.
Small groups, worship band, being a greeter... it’s all good things to do.
Getting in the Word is so important.
Studying the Bible really is beneficial to our souls.
Following God’s commandments is a great goal.
“Walking the walk” of Christianity isn’t usually ever a bad thing.
But it’s also not the thing Jesus wants the most.
I’ve found it’s so easy to fall into the trap of religion.
It’s really easy to make a checklist of “to-do’s” to make ourselves feel good as a believer.
But our religion is not what Jesus is after.
He wants a true relationship with us.
He wants to be on our mind throughout the day. He wants our attention.
(We are certainly on His mind.)
He wants to be in our decision making.
He wants us to go to Him, not once we figured stuff out, but go to Him with all the mess and darkness we are carrying.
Jesus loves us at our worst the same way He loves us at our best.
He wants our affection. He wants us to feel passion and excitement about Him in our life.
He doesn’t want us to just know about Him, but to actually know His heart.
He didn’t die for us just so that we could “behave” in a certain way.
He died so we could have Him.
A personal relationship with Him.
Us and Jesus forever.
So do what it takes to connect with Him.
Read your Bible, engage in community, live like Jesus.
But don’t mistake religion for relationship.
Don’t aim for performance over intimacy with Him.
We all fall short and He knows that. He doesn’t expect perfection.
He can handle and care for the raw, authentic, messy us.
So bring that to Him. Talk with Him about it.
The most beautiful thing is that we can live this life with Jesus literally being the person we are closest to.
If you’re wondering...
He deeply wants this relationship with you.
~Kelli Bachara, The Unraveling Blog
Comments