(This is written for Christian audiences who have already given their hearts to Christ and are saved (in Protestant lingo) and baptized (for Catholics.)
Some Christian denominations stress what you do (commandment-keeping or acts of charity) and other churches stress what you think and believe. Some denominations teach that prayer and Bible study are the most important things you can do strengthen your relationship with Christ. Other churches stress that if you want a closer relationship to Christ, then obey Him in: helping the poor, visiting the sick and imprisoned, giving offerings, fasting, confession and repentance, evangelization and missions.
All of these are good things. But when you do them, are they making you good? Are the things you do and think actually making you more like Christ? Really ponder this. Is your religion making you love like Christ?
If God is love, then your religion should be taking away your pride, arrogance, anger, selfishness, greed, laziness.Your faith should be bringing you into closer contact with His holiness and that affects you.
Is your religion transforming you into His love?
St. Paul writes to the people in Corinth in chapter 13 first about the importance of "agape" (charity). He lists all the supernatural fruits of the spirit: tongues, prophecy, wisdom, knowledge, and faith. However, he writes that without love all of these are NOTHING. He emphasizes this admonition with—if you give away all your possessions and give your body to be burned, without out love…you gain nothing! Ouch!
Love is even greater than faith! And if faith can save you, what amazing things can love do? What is this vital thing called love? St. Paul defines "agape" (charity/love) in the next few verses:
Ask yourself again: Is your religion giving you the graces to be patient, kind, humble, to not anger easily nor hold onto wrongs and grudges? Does your religion help you to delight in truth and protect, trust, hope and persevere?
Is your religion opening your ears and eyes and bringing you out of the stupor of sin? Is it giving you the strength and courage to humbly serve others? Is your religion lifting you out of the crippling disfunction of me-ism and calming that desire to be better than others?
I am not bashing religion at all. Because the word "religion" comes from the same root word as "ligament," religion is supposed to help us shed the shackles of enslavement to sin and make us holy enough to stand in the brilliance of Pure Love. Our belief system, our church attendance, our Bible study and prayer times are supposed to re-align and reconnect us with God. Commandments are for the purpose of helping us to be like Christ.
If what you do is not transforming you into the image of Christ and opening up your heart to both giving and receiving love, something is wrong. It may be your specific denomination, but probably it is something inside you. Perhaps you are not understanding the purpose of religion.
When I was young, my mother told me that manners were not to make one feel they are above others who do not have manners, but manners were developed carefully over time to show respect for others. If we become arrogant or resentful because we are more mannerly than those around us, we have reversed the entire reason manners were developed. Manners are unselfish acts of kindness towards others.
This is the same thing with religious rules and traditions. Commandments are to help us learn love. Prayers and fasting, Bible study, works of mercy and charity are to strip us of our pride and self-centeredness and help us to be patient and kind. Rules and works are to give us God's noble character so that we may stand before a holy God for all eternity.
Religion is to make us love like God loves.
If your faith does not do this for you, do not give up keeping Christ's New Covenant commandments, do not stop prayer and Bible study, do not stop acts of mercy and charity. Rather, rethink your motivation and attitude. Go to God and ask for His grace to change your heart. Pray that He will shower you with gratitude and praise for Him, pray that your eyes will be opened to see how much He loves you and that you may see others through His loving eyes.
Pray for radical transformation of your heart that the barriers of sin in your life will fall so that you can experience the overwhelming joy of His love and you then can overflow His love to others.
For that is what religion is all about.
Some Christian denominations stress what you do (commandment-keeping or acts of charity) and other churches stress what you think and believe. Some denominations teach that prayer and Bible study are the most important things you can do strengthen your relationship with Christ. Other churches stress that if you want a closer relationship to Christ, then obey Him in: helping the poor, visiting the sick and imprisoned, giving offerings, fasting, confession and repentance, evangelization and missions.
All of these are good things. But when you do them, are they making you good? Are the things you do and think actually making you more like Christ? Really ponder this. Is your religion making you love like Christ?
If God is love, then your religion should be taking away your pride, arrogance, anger, selfishness, greed, laziness.Your faith should be bringing you into closer contact with His holiness and that affects you.
Is your religion transforming you into His love?
St. Paul writes to the people in Corinth in chapter 13 first about the importance of "agape" (charity). He lists all the supernatural fruits of the spirit: tongues, prophecy, wisdom, knowledge, and faith. However, he writes that without love all of these are NOTHING. He emphasizes this admonition with—if you give away all your possessions and give your body to be burned, without out love…you gain nothing! Ouch!
Love is even greater than faith! And if faith can save you, what amazing things can love do? What is this vital thing called love? St. Paul defines "agape" (charity/love) in the next few verses:
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Love never fails. …And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
Ask yourself again: Is your religion giving you the graces to be patient, kind, humble, to not anger easily nor hold onto wrongs and grudges? Does your religion help you to delight in truth and protect, trust, hope and persevere?
Is your religion opening your ears and eyes and bringing you out of the stupor of sin? Is it giving you the strength and courage to humbly serve others? Is your religion lifting you out of the crippling disfunction of me-ism and calming that desire to be better than others?
I am not bashing religion at all. Because the word "religion" comes from the same root word as "ligament," religion is supposed to help us shed the shackles of enslavement to sin and make us holy enough to stand in the brilliance of Pure Love. Our belief system, our church attendance, our Bible study and prayer times are supposed to re-align and reconnect us with God. Commandments are for the purpose of helping us to be like Christ.
If what you do is not transforming you into the image of Christ and opening up your heart to both giving and receiving love, something is wrong. It may be your specific denomination, but probably it is something inside you. Perhaps you are not understanding the purpose of religion.
When I was young, my mother told me that manners were not to make one feel they are above others who do not have manners, but manners were developed carefully over time to show respect for others. If we become arrogant or resentful because we are more mannerly than those around us, we have reversed the entire reason manners were developed. Manners are unselfish acts of kindness towards others.
This is the same thing with religious rules and traditions. Commandments are to help us learn love. Prayers and fasting, Bible study, works of mercy and charity are to strip us of our pride and self-centeredness and help us to be patient and kind. Rules and works are to give us God's noble character so that we may stand before a holy God for all eternity.
Religion is to make us love like God loves.
If your faith does not do this for you, do not give up keeping Christ's New Covenant commandments, do not stop prayer and Bible study, do not stop acts of mercy and charity. Rather, rethink your motivation and attitude. Go to God and ask for His grace to change your heart. Pray that He will shower you with gratitude and praise for Him, pray that your eyes will be opened to see how much He loves you and that you may see others through His loving eyes.
Pray for radical transformation of your heart that the barriers of sin in your life will fall so that you can experience the overwhelming joy of His love and you then can overflow His love to others.
For that is what religion is all about.
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