{"id":3371,"date":"2016-04-03T09:00:04","date_gmt":"2016-04-03T14:00:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.barbdahlgren.com\/?p=3371"},"modified":"2023-10-15T20:33:30","modified_gmt":"2023-10-16T01:33:30","slug":"choose-relationship-over-religion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/?p=3371","title":{"rendered":"Choose Relationship Over Religion"},"content":{"rendered":"

Another Year of Choices <\/em><\/p>\n

By Barbara Dahlgren<\/em><\/p>\n

Those who sing, \u201cGive me that old time religion; it\u2019s good enough for me\u2026\u201d may not know what they are asking for.<\/p>\n

Exactly what is religion?\u00a0 Dictionaries define it as belief in a god, group of gods or the supernatural.\u00a0 It can include service, worship, practices, traditions, rules, and observances.\u00a0 Unfortunately, it doesn\u2019t include a relationship with the living God.<\/p>\n

Some pacify their need for religion by going to church once a week, wearing a cross around the neck, putting a fish emblem on a car, carrying a \u201cPrayer of Jabez\u201d key chain, or saying, \u201cGod bless you!\u201d when someone sneezes.\u00a0 These are not bad things to do, but if that\u2019s all Christians rely on, they are missing the mark.\u00a0 That\u2019s what happened to the Pharisees \u2013 they missed the mark.<\/p>\n

Jesus had a great deal of patience towards sinners.\u00a0 He healed them, ate with them, extended them kindness and compassion.\u00a0 However, He was not fond of the Pharisees \u2013 the religious leaders of the time who religiously kept religious laws, traditions, and observances.\u00a0 They even added a few of their own to make themselves even more religious in the eyes of others.\u00a0 Their over zealousness did not endear them to Christ.\u00a0 In fact, it repulsed Him.\u00a0 He called them vipers, evil, hypocrites, sons of the devil, blind and a few other things we don\u2019t have time or space to explore. (Matthew 23)<\/p>\n

You see, God is not looking for religion; He\u2019s looking for relationship.<\/p>\n

God created us as relational beings.\u00a0 Humans long to connect with others.\u00a0 We want people to understand us, empathize with us, share our joy, feel our pain, and so on.\u00a0 For this to happen we must open ourselves up to others.\u00a0 We talk; they talk.\u00a0 We listen; they listen.\u00a0 It takes a little time, but well worth the effort.<\/p>\n

Well, God is relational as well.\u00a0 He longs for a relationship with us, but He will not force it on us.\u00a0 He will beckon or encourage us to come to Him.\u00a0 He will make himself available.\u00a0 He will love us.\u00a0 He will stand at the door and knock, but He won’t come in and fellowship with us unless He is invited. (Revelation 3:20) He initiates, but we must respond on our own.<\/p>\n

Some talk about \u201cbuilding a relationship\u201d with God and while I think there is some merit to that phrase, it does make me think of hard labor.\u00a0 Therefore, I\u2019ve been leaning more towards words like interaction and participation in regards to a relationship with God.<\/p>\n

\"Hebrews<\/a>Consider this\u2026 Jesus is the same \u2013 yesterday, today and forever. (Hebrews 13:8) He is always near, ready and willing to connect with us.\u00a0 We don\u2019t have to build a high tower to be closer to Him.\u00a0 We just need to reach out and He\u2019s there.<\/p>\n

How do we reach out?\u00a0 We reach out through communication, which is a give and take process.\u00a0 We talk and He listens.\u00a0 He talks and we listen.<\/p>\n

There is a fancy name for talking with God.\u00a0 It\u2019s called prayer.\u00a0 The purpose of prayer is to spend time with God, communicating with Him. We tell him how we feel from the heart. \u00a0Since we don’t always feel the same way, our talks will vary.\u00a0 Sometimes we might be angry or frightened. Sometimes we might be elated and joyful.\u00a0 Sometimes we are anxious and worried.\u00a0 Sometimes we are overwhelmed by God\u2019s goodness and full of praise.\u00a0 And we should always be able to find something to be thankful for.\u00a0 We talk to God just like we would talk to our most intimate friend \u2013 from the heart and often.<\/p>\n

So how does God talk to us?\u00a0 God spoke to Moses through a burning bush, but I wouldn\u2019t wait for that to happen today.\u00a0 If we ask God to interact with us, He will probably do it through what we come in contact with in our daily routine \u2013 maybe through a Bible scripture, a sunset, a child’s smile, a co-worker’s off handed comment, a friend’s concern, a quote we read in a book, or various circumstances.\u00a0 It may come in the form of comfort, wisdom, or even correction.\u00a0 Since we are not all alike, God communicates with each of us differently.\u00a0 However, we must be receptive if we want to hear what God is saying. So our thoughts need to be on Him throughout the day.<\/p>\n

\"Old<\/a><\/p>\n

My advice is to forget that old time religion.\u00a0 It\u2019s not good enough for me and it\u2019s not good enough for you because God did not create us for religion.\u00a0 God created us for relationship.<\/p>\n

Suggestions for practicing this choice\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n