“It’s not about a religion, it’s about a relationship.”
This is a buzz phrase I hear all the time in Christian circles, especially youth groups. While I agree with the heart behind it, I hate it when people don’t explain what they mean.
As a teenager, I was hugely in to my youth group gatherings. We would fervently pray against the spirit of religion so common in our churches. When I was 15 in a small Christian school co-op, I got into a debate with my teacher because I said something about religion being a bad thing. I continued to argue until I realized that he had a completely different definition for the word religion, and that quite possibly our views weren’t that different.
To me, religion meant rituals without meaning, actions devoid of an engaged heart. From what Mr. Corson said, I believe that to him religion meant an uncompromising belief system to hold to.
Youth are a people group especially desperate to find what’s genuine and don’t want to waste their energy with anything less. The Pharisaical attitude we met as teenagers in church turns away so many people genuinely seeking truth. Too often Christians get into the routine of church and lose sight of the reality of the God they worship. This is when Christians who are awake to this go out to people who are seeking and say, ‘Try this kind of Christianity. We’re not about a religion in the sense of rituals to make us feel holy. We’re about relationship with a true and living God.’
In John Eldridge’s book Wild at Heart, he says about God: “God is a Person, not a doctrine. He operates not like a system—not even a theological system—but with all the originality of a truly free and alive person. ”
God is a Person. This picture reminds me of the line in C.S. Lewis’ book (and the movie based on it) The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe when the Pevensie children are at the beavers’ house. When they figure out Aslan is a lion, they ask the beavers if he is safe.
” “Safe?” said Mr. Beaver; “don’t you hear what Mrs. Beaver tells you? Who said anything about safe? ‘Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the King, I tell you.” ”
As a person, we’ll never have God pegged. He’s too big for that. However, this does not mean that doctrine ought to be disregarded. It is rather a subject of utmost importance. It is vital to seek Him, to get to know Him better. It’s the beauty of relationship, continuing to get to know Him. We can’t limit God to our box of what we know. Regardless, we need to settle on attributes of God, for instance the goodness and trustworthiness of His character and the magnitude of His sacrifice.
“Religion” and “relationship” ought to go hand in hand. The best way I can think to explain this is through the picture of a marriage relationship.
For this allegory, think of relationship as the feelings and time spent together while religion as the vows and commitment. No marriage really works without a good measure of both of these qualities. The feelings are what initially attract to people, the things that make them want to be together. However, feelings go through highs and lows. This is a core part to being human. There come times and seasons where it gets hard to be together. This is where the vows and commitment act as an anchor. I’m sure a married person could take this analogy so much further, but this is the basic picture I have.
God asks repeatedly in Scripture for every part of us: heart, soul, mind, and strength. A belief system accompanied by a devoted heart. Relationship in religion.
Guest Blogger: Loree Forney
Loree just graduated from Northwest University with her bachelor’s degree in elementary education and is pursuing a career as a children’s pastor. She is headed to New Zealand in the fall and is the oldest daughter of Mission Igniter director, Michael Forney.
