I Hate Religiousness But I love Being A Christian

I surrendered my life to Jesus over 12 years ago. The time is going so fast, I didn't even realise it had been that long until I was telling a friend about my testimony and it finally made me realise how long I had been a serious Christian.

It is unfortunate, however, that the word serious had to be used because I've met and experienced a few who had all the theoretical answers to things but there were no physical signs to show for what they say they believed in. I'm not here to put anyone down, please bear with me. All I'm saying is that as Christians we are all called to be followers of Christ. And by all means, Jesus was not religious at all. He was brave enough to tell the people the truth when they least likely to hear it.

Deciding to follow Jesus is not an easy task either. This is why he sent us the Helper (The Holy Spirit) to strengthen and guide us on our walk with Him. (John 14:26) If Jesus Himself needed the Holy Spirit before He began His ministry how much more us humans who are here today and gone tomorrow? (John 1:32)

This is what the Bible says about what true religion is:

"If anyone among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but, deceives this own heart, this one's religion is useless. Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world." James 1:26-27 (NKJV)

And this is what dictionary.com defines what religion is in today's world. Since a religion nowadays does not necessarily mean you believe in God. It also means you can be religious but believe in many gods at the same time. it is a:

"a set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature, and purpose of the universe, especially when considered as the creation of a superhuman agency or agencies, usually involving devotional and ritual observances, and often containing a moral governing the conduct of human affairs."

Now if we say we are indeed a follower of Christ then I also believe that there should be a before and after. If there's no before and after then something is not right.

We have to be honest with ourselves. I can talk from first-hand experience because although I had claimed the Christian title. I was not living the life that a follower of Christ is to be living.

There were certain things that I wasn't prepared to do. But I had also left the other things undone. Just like the Pharisees. They wash their hands before every meal, they sit at the best seats in the synagogue but in their hearts, they were as ravenous wolves. (Read Mark 7:1-23)

I was going to church faithfully. Every Sunday, but I would leave the Church service and go to my boyfriend's house and mess around. I tried to argue in my heart and mind that as long as I wasn't 'physically' doing anything 'wrong' I was being good. As long as I was being good in the eyes of men I was being a very good Christian. How wrong I was.

It's easy to follow the rules. It's easy to attend a meeting. It's easy to carry the Bible underneath our arms and say 'Hallelujah praise the Lord' and 'God is good all the time' but:

• Difficult it is to surrender our will to the will of God.

• Difficult it is to let go of past hurts and allow Him to heal our hearts.

• Difficult it is to forgive that person who hurt us.

• Difficult it is to not wish that same person harm and to bless them instead.

• Difficult it is to contain our sexual urges and wait for the right person to come along for us to be blessed in our marriages.

• Difficult it is to be faithful when the desire to turn away is so attractive and seductive.

These are not just a set of rules. They reflect the very nature of our hearts. Jesus came to save our souls. But it takes great determination, courage, boldness, and humility to keep our souls in His hands. Being religious doesn't mean anything if we've not surrendered our hearts completely to Him. It is, however, the Christian thing to do. That is the only way for us to really change from within. Not only following the 'rules'.

Until next time.