Religion vs Relationship
For a while now I’ve been wanting to write a blog or give a sermon over the difference between Religion and Relationship. I still might give a sermon over it; however, I have yet to do it. I have felt convicted ever since my first debrief because I know the Lord has asked me to talk about this subject. So, without further ado here’s a blog about it.
Our first debrief, day 3. It was our first activation day. The whole squad and I didn’t know that to expect out of it. We were all divided up into different groups so that we could cover more ground.(for those of you who don’t know what activation is, it is a time you go out, walk around, talk with people, pray over them, and build a relationship with them.)The group I was with wanted to go get food so we walked around until they found a place they wanted to eat at. We talked with the owner of the restaurant for a while and asked if we could pray over him. He kindly said no and wished us luck with what we were doing. We were back to walking around the park square when one of the group members asked if we could go into the Catholic Church. Everyone agreed that it would be fine to go in and pray over the people and the space in there.
As soon as I set one foot into the church I couldn’t breathe. It was nearly impossible. It felt as if my chest had just collapsed. My hands began to tremble. My body became heavy. I was in the middle of spiritual warfare, and I was caught in the crossfire. Others from my group spread out and began to sit at the benches to pray over the space, but I couldn’t. I walked over to the left side of the building to watch all that was going on. The members of the church seemed lifeless. The expressions on their face looked as if they had no purpose, as if they were lost. Others were taking pictures at the altar. Some were taking pictures with the casket where the wax figured Jesus lay. With tears building and my chest burning, I prayed and asked God what I was experiencing and what I was supposed to do with it.
God:‘BelovedI’m allowing you to see what Religion looks like. Religion is a practice of things. It’s something you can check off of a box, but that’s not what my house is supposed to look like. I’ve called you and have given you the chance to be in a Relationship with me. Beloved, don’t make my house into a place of Religion. Fight for our Relationship.’
I gathered everyone within my group and asked them to walk outside. As soon as my feet had left the building I could breathe again. With tears running down my face I told my group that I had just experienced serious spiritual warfare. They walked with me to the town square which was about 80 feet from the Church. I sat down on a bench next to a set of stairs and began to weep. As I had tears and snot rolling down my face, all of the men on my squad (a grand total of 9) came up to me and asked if I was okay. I told them what had just happened and I soon after began to calm down. One of the men said to the others “We need to go into that Church and pray against ‘religion’ and spiritual warfare”, and that’s exactly what they did. They stopped what they were doing, which was handing out free roses to women and telling them that God loves them and sees them.
As I watched them walk away from the town square and into the Church, I had this thought, “Those men are warriors of God.”
Everyone went except for one of the men. He sat with me and asked me questions. He asked me about all that I was feeling and how I was going to act on what God had asked me to do. By the end of the conversation he gave me one of the roses. He told me that God sees me and is proud of me. What this man didn’t know (still might not know) is that God calls me His rose. God calls me His rose because I am beautiful in His eyes. He says I am worthy and wanted despite my thorns of protection I have set up around me. He calls me His rose because He knows that my heart isn’t this icy hardened rock that I proclaim it is, He knows that my heart is as delicate and as soft as a rose petal. I am Gods Beloved Rose.
I think it was around 3pm when the whole squad met back up at the hostel to debrief what we experienced. Some people saw healings, some witnessed people accepting Jesus into their heart, and others made new friends. Right when we were about to finish up I felt the Lord lead me to share what I had experienced. Y’all, I’m not one to talk in front of others, especially when I’ve only known them for a month! Trying to keep the tears from falling, struggling to speak clearly and keep my voice from sounding too shaky, I stood up. I began explaining the feeling I had once I entered the church and how I felt once I left.
If God wanted us to follow Religion He would have given us an itinerary. He would have given us this little slip of paper that has boxes on the right side so that you can check the box once you’ve done what’s on the list.
Religious Itinerary 101
By: God
- Get ready for church because it’s the right thing to do (check)
- Walk in, grab a free cup of coffee and a donut (check)
- Listen to what we ‘have’ to hear from the pastor (check)
- Walk out of church and try to be a good person (check)
- Wait to pray or talk about God until it’s Sunday (check)
God did not give us an itinerary with boxes to check off of. Instead He gave us prayer so that we could have constant communication with Him, which in turn leads to an everlasting relationship. (read that again)
Think about the current relationships you have. Think about the things y’all do together. Think about the conversations you have. Think about how it’s comforting to be around them. That’s what God wants from us…no, what He desires from us. Our God longs for us to want Him. Our God created us to be relational. It says in Genesis that God created us in His image. If that is true (which it is) then if God is relational that means we are wired to be relational too. So why not do everything in your power to build a stronger relationship with the creator of relationships!
We were made for so much more than to follow the ways of ‘religion’, and guess what, so was Jesus. He didn’t follow religion as much as the profits would’ve liked. Jesus healed the sick on the Sabbath, that was against religion, but He did it anyways so that He could heal and build a relationship with them despite what day it was. Jesus spent more time with the sinners that He did the ‘righteous’.
We were made for so much more than to follow a religious itinerary. We were made to be relational with our maker and with the people around us. The church isn’t a place to go into on a Sunday just because it’s a Sunday. The church should be made as a home. Where people gather together and share what they are learning about the Lord. The church shouldn’t be the place you feel like you have to go into acting and feeling your best. The church is a place where you can go and see your family. The church is a place for people to do life together while chasing after God, not a place to check off of a box.
~Chase
