Religion vs. Relationship

I grew up thinking God was this big guy up there, looking down on us from His throne in heaven. I grew up thinking He was a very difficult person to please and that at the slightest mistake, He would reach down and punish me. So I grew up wanting to please God, not really because I wanted to please God but because I didn’t want to get punished for doing something wrong. So I strove to do all the right things. I went to church, read my Bible, prayed and tried my best to be a good child. By doing all these things, I would always be in God’s good books, or so I thought. As it turns out, this was all religion!

There comes a time when you get tired of doing everything you are told. You get tired of doing all the ‘right’ things and being ‘good’ all the time. So you decide that from that time on, you would do things differently- you would do what you please and in your own time too. So you embark on a journey. This time, it is your journey and you make your own rules. You are excited and you look forward to all the wonderful experiences this journey has to offer. On the way, you meet many people, each different and unique but all like you- searching. These people make your trip more exciting. They add adventure and excitement to the monotony of the undulating road. They are wonderful, you think to yourself, until you realize that a few miles behind, they had taken a detour. Then you realize that you are actually alone. You search for the next fellow traveler but can see none in sight. You sigh, you have acquired so much along the way and your bags are getting heavy- really heavy. You really need someone to help. You won’t really mind anyone, even if the person is all dusty and dirty looking, you say in your mind. You carry on like this for miles. You pass a young lady sitting by the roadside. She smiles at you, you smile back. You wish she would offer to help you but there’s so much worry on her face. You look closely and notice all the bags around her. You realize she’s just like you, with her bags to worry about.

You meet yet another person on the way. The person looks your way but there’s so much going on around that all he can offer is his fleeting glance. So you continue, telling yourself, as you pass by different people all with their own bags, that no one will come to help you. Something beside you suddenly catches your attention. You move your bags around to get a better look. There’s someone beside you and from the looks of his shoes, he’s been walking for a long time, maybe even as long as you have. Apart from his dusty shoes, he looks okay but unlike everyone else you have met, he’s not carrying anything. So you ask him where all his bags are. He smiles and asks to help you carry yours. You are skeptical; maybe he’s a thief. Again, you ask him where his things are and he simply asks to carry yours. You are suspicious, so you keep moving, dragging your bags along with you. Funny enough, this guy keeps walking alongside you. You begin to wonder why this man hasn’t left you. You glance occasionally at him and every time, he catches your glance and reaches out signaling that he wants to help with your bags. Each time, you hold on tighter to your bags; he smiles and keeps walking. Soon enough, you get tired. Seeing your fatigue, he offers again to help you out. This time you agree. He picks up the first bag with ease and then the next one. There are still a couple of your bags on the floor but your shoelace is undone and you bend to tie it. When you get up, you notice that this man has carried all your bags. You wonder how he can still stand upright with all the bags he is carrying. You ask him to give a few to you to carry but he says he can carry them all. From what you can see, he’s telling the truth. So you carry on, grateful for this stranger carrying your bags. You ask for his name and he’s surprised that you don’t know. He says you grew up with him and that as you converse, his name would come back to you. The conversation carries on and you find out that he is an artist, a king, a shepherd, a lover and a friend. You wonder how anyone can be so many things at once. You don’t ask. You find the way he talks rather romantic, but you just met this stranger so your guards are up. He seems more interested in talking about you than about himself and begins to ask about the places you have visited on your journey. You tell him of all the wonderful places you have been and your souvenirs. You decide to rest and use the opportunity to show him all your souvenirs. As you rummage through one of your bags, something falls out. You had not intended to show anyone, let alone a stranger, what fell out so you quickly put it back in the bag. You finally find what you were looking for and turn around to show him. From the first look, you know he knows! He had seen what had fallen out. You try to explain yourself but your words are jumbled up and tears flow down your cheeks. You have no words, only tears, but as you look into this man’s eyes, you are surprised. Where you expected to see condemnation and disgust, there was love- a deep river of love. He opens his arms and strangely enough, you want nothing more than to be in this stranger’s arms. So you walk closer to him, into his arms and you cry. Tears of shame and disgrace roll down your cheeks but he holds you tighter, wiping them away and whispering in your ear. You can’t really hear what his saying but the warmth in his arms is amazing. It calms you until you are ready to walk again.

After a while, you realize that he is one bag short. When you ask him about it, he tells you he dropped a bag along the way- you didn’t need it. You start to protest but restrain yourself- he is right. You don’t need anything in that bag. So you keep walking and several times, you break down because of something in one of your bags. Each time, this man takes you in his arms and hugs you until you are ready to walk again. Every time this happens, he drops a bag. As you continue to talk, you realize that you might actually know this man; parts of his name begin to come to you. At a point, you stop; the man has no bags left! He smiles at you and hugs you like he always had, whispering in your ear. This time, you hear clearly: I love you. The warmth from his voice fills your heart and tears roll down your cheeks. This time they are tears of gratitude, tears of love. You remember where you were before this man came along, the tears and hugs along the way. You love this man! This man is no longer a stranger to you but you still don’t know his name. Your head still on his chest, you ask him for his name. He replies, Jesus. You are amazed! You had heard about this man before. You had heard stories about him from people and from the Bible. Surely, this couldn’t be the same man. Jesus explains that those Bible stories you had grown up hearing were true. They spoke of Him as the Greatest Lover. He tells you that when you read your Bible and prayed and when you didn’t, He loved you. When you were ‘good’ and when you weren’t, He still loved you. He explains to you that He wasn’t looking for Bible-readers or churchgoers. He was looking for friends.

So as I pick my Bible up today, I’m excited. Not because I would have a star beside my name in God’s book but because I can’t wait to hear what my Lover has to say. When I pray, I don’t do it because praying makes me good. I do it because Jesus and I are walking down that dusty road together, hand in hand, conversing. The best part is, I’m not the only one talking. All the while, he says to me, I love you, friend. As it turns out, that’s all relationship!

Are you ready to let Him carry your bags? If you are, please say the prayer on the right and give all your bags to Him.

Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly."

(Matthew 11:28-30, Message Bible)