8/5/18
God meets us where we are – not where we pretend to be. He meets us where we are – not where we wish we were. – Larry Crabb
Religion is about striving to be and do good enough to earn God’s Love and Salvation. Christianity is about Walking with Jesus – it’s a relationship based on Faith that what He did on the Cross was sufficient to make me Righteous. That’s to say that His Righteousness is freely given to me through Faith – a Faith that is also a Gift from Him (Ephesians 2:8-10).
You see, religion is about me doing stuff (going to Church, reading the Bible a certain amount every day, doing these things over here, and not doing those things over there), and when I don’t do enough, then I feel the need to pretend like I am, by building a facade – a place that focuses on my religious scam – not God’s Love, Grace, and Mercy. I hope you can understand that Religion is about me lying to myself and God. Being a Follower of Jesus is about humility, which leads to an honesty in which He can work in and through me.
So what does religiousity look like? Well, it can look like direct sinful behavior or perhaps it might resemble a lack of Faith that ranges from a simple, “I don’t know if I can take that step…” to, “I don’t see how a Good God could allow this in my life…” to, “I don’t know if God really exists.” The problem is that if I’m not honest with myself, then I can’t be honest with God, and there’s a simple reality that He can’t Work in my lies… Instead, He shows me The Way to The Truth and Faith, and He invites me to join Him there, where He turns ashes into Beauty.
Probably the best illustration I can give is actually found in a 3-minute video by The Skit Guys. Although I can’t post my copy of the video on our site, you can watch it here on The Skit Guy’s Site – Trash Video. As you see, Jesus can handle the truth about our sin and doubt, but we first need to be honest with ourselves.
My Girls, even as a man of God who leads people in the Church, I still have sin that I have to be honest about, and I still have doubts from time to time – even to the point where I question the existence of God… these are natural, and I know that God can handle my trash as long as I’m honest with Him.
Challenge Question: What does honesty with yourself and God look like TODAY?
God’s Word: Psalm 13 & 38, John 8:1-11, and Mark 9:14-29
Dad's Wisdom 