I Am Not Religious.

I Am Not Religious

I grew up in a small Lutheran church, was raised in a good Christian home, and began to check the boxes of a good, “religious”, Christian girl when the teenage years hit. I developed this persona that would make me look good in the eye of the public. I went to church on Sundays, said my nightly prayers, obeyed my father and mother, and continued on with whatever else I thought a good, “religious”, Christian girl would do. Being a type A personality meant I did a good job at checking those boxes, and if I messed up, man did I beat myself up for it. I didn’t need to be disciplined by my parents or authorities because I did it for myself. I liked those boxes, they kept me in check and I rarely got questioned by the public about my actions. I thought these boxes were what was going to keep me on the right track to heaven. I thought if I kept this persona of a good, “religious”, Christian girl, then I’d be fine, and I could go on about living my life however I pleased. Needless to say, I was wrong.

The word religious is an adjective that, on dictionary.com, describes someone who believes in a certain religion, and in my case, that is Christianity. I believed/believe in one God who created heaven and the earth and that He sent His one and only son (Jesus) that was incarnated by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. I believed/believe that Jesus descended into hell, three days later, rose from the dead and ascended to heaven, and that He now sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. I believed/believe that He will come again to judge both the living and the dead. I believed that by believing this that our sins are forgiven and that we may have eternal life. The end. Not exactly...

What I didn’t realize growing up, especially during my teenage years, religion can limit a person. Religion can limit us to believe that all we need to do is “believe”. “Believe” is a word described on dictionary.com as “accepting” something as true. Yes, believing is important, accepting God’s word as truth is important, but if we truly believe something as truth, shouldn’t we take action to prove that? Think about it… If I believe murder is wrong, shouldn’t I stear clear of taking someones life? If I believe that treating someone with kindness and respect is the right thing to do, then shouldn’t I do that?

If we went against what we believed, then do we actually believe in its truth? Or are we just selfish enough to think that there are exceptions. You see, I don’t just “accept” God’s word as truth, I KNOW it’s truth. However, in the words of Crystal Evans Hurst from the book “She’s still there,” “just because you know doesn’t mean you grow. Knowledge that does not result in action is simply information.” So, I don’t just “believe,” and then go about living however I want. I don’t just check the boxes anymore… I take action. And what does action look like? Well it starts with a relationship.

Having a relationship with Christ is as simple as any other relationship we develop. We get to know one another, love each other with not only words but actions, and stay faithful and loyal. I don’t consider myself a religious person anymore, because that binds me down to only believing and can take the relationship out of the equation. I consider myself a Laborer for Christ. A Christian who not only believes, but takes action. I believe that action that is based on beliefs, allows you to be changed from the inside out. If we allow ourselves to hear the truth, understand it, believe it, and then act like what we believe is true, that is when we awaken the spirit inside us. That is when we start truly doing the works of the Lord. Not because we feel we need to to reach heaven, not because we need to check some box to earn God’s love, but because once we believe His truth, taking action is the only real way to express our love for Him.

Action = Relationship.

John 3:16-21 - “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.”

James 2:18 - “But some will say, “You have faith; I have deeds. Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds.”’

John 14:12 - “Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.”