"God’s law was given so that all people could see how sinful they were. But as people sinned more and more, God’s wonderful grace became more abundant." Romans 5:20 (NLT)
Over the past few years I have become more and more disillusioned with religion. Let me clarify what I mean by the word "religion", because the term is often used to describe the various faiths of the world. When I say "religion" I mean any institutional system that seeks to base our self worth on the ability to keep a set of moral rules and regulations; any system that seeks to dole out a ticket to heaven and blessings by the god of that religion based on the people's ability to obey the unique regulations of that religious sect. These religious systems I refer to are inherently self-righteous because they promote an "us" vs "them" mentality, or a "those-who-keep-the-right-rules-and-believe-the-right-things" vs. "those-who-don't" dichotomy.
What I quickly discovered in my religious years when I was literally wearing myself out trying to obey God enough to love me and heal my broken soul (while securing a place for me in heaven) is that I could never even get close to reaching the level of perfection that was necessary, and it seemed that the rules kept changing depending on whose interpretation of the Bible you accepted. It is no wonder there are thousands of Christian denominations worldwide.
It has been during this spiritual journey, or evolution, that my acceptance of God's grace through Jesus has not only been solidified, but my love and appreciation for God increased exponentially. "Grace" is a very dangerous word, because it goes against practically everything we are taught from the moment we come out of the womb. Grace at its core means "unearned love or love that comes free of charge, regardless of performance". The world tends to base "love" on performance, God's grace shows we could not perform in accordance to the perfection of the Law anyway, no matter how hard we try:
- The world's system insists that there is no such thing as a free lunch; God's grace insists that the price for true love is not only infinitely more than we could ever pay, but it is already covered through Jesus, hence free for us (He pays so we don't have to).
- The world's system loves to put people into categories, grace insists that love is available free of charge to all, regardless of race, gender, creed, occupation. Grace is the great equalizer where our petty differences are rendered null and void.
- The world operates on a code of self-righteousness where the mantra is "I do, therefore I am and I deserve"; Grace shows us that God blesses us not because of our performance, but despite our flaws. Based on Biblical law, no one is performing well enough anyway, and if you think you are, you need to stop drinking the proverbial religious "kool aid"
- Religion always operates under the assumption that "compared to so and so, I am not that bad", Grace refuses to fall for this subtle trick of deception, instead recognized the need we all have for unconditional love, forgiveness and eternal redemption provided through Jesus.
- The world and religion ration out "love" based on the recipient's performance. God's love is a free gift.
Ironically, Grace is supposed to be Christianity's unique contribution to the world, as Philip Yancey points out in his award winning book, "What's so Amazing about Grace?":
"During a British conference on comparative religions, experts from around the world debated what, if any, belief was unique to the Christian faith. They began eliminating possibilities. Incarnation? Other religions had different versions of gods appearing in human form. Ressurection? Again, other religions had accounts of return from death. The debate went on from some time until C.S. Lewis wandered into the room. "What's the rumpus?" he asked, and heard in reply that his colleagues were discusing Christianity's unique contribution among world religions. Lewis responded, "Oh, that's easy. It's grace."
After some discussion, the conferees had to agree. The notion of God's love coming to us free of charge, no strings attached, seems to go against every instinct of humanity. The Buddhist eight-fold path, the Hindu doctrine of karma, the Jewish covenant, and Muslim code of law - each of these offers a way to earn approval. Only Christianity dares to make God's love unconditional."
C.S. Lewis is one of the great spiritual writers of the 20th century (Chronicles of Narnia, Mere Christianity), so those are powerful words. This is why I believe Jesus remains the most influential person the world has ever known: His manifestation of God's love is unparalleled, especially towards those who feel unlovable for whatever reason. Have you ever been rejected or condemned by those whom you trusted would not do so? By so-called friends/family/acquaintances? Then you are in good company and there is acceptance available free of charge without the silliness of religion.
A great friend of mine, Jim Lee, has penned an awesome book on the subject of God's grace. The book is titled "Broken Roads to Grace" and is available at www.brokenroadstograce.com. It is inexpensive and shipping is free. If you buy 4 copies, you get the 5th one free. It is not only a great read, and I am not just saying this because he's my friend, but is would make for a wonderful book club discussion. Jim was a pastor for several years and he is open and authentic about his weariness from religious fervor and his discovery of God's grace. I love the book so much I agreed to write a blurb on the back cover recommending it because of its sheer authenticity. Some of the confessions and things he discusses in the book are rarely discussed in religious circles because religion tends to promote the wearing of self-righteous masks that stifle honest dialogue.
I wish you and your entire family an abundance of grace, peace and serenity in 2012. May your heart's desires be fulfilled this year.
Peace and Love,
Stephen
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