Religion vs. Relationship.

So today I was talking to one of my friends and I was telling her about my church and she asked me but how can a church not be religious? How can you be a Christian and follow a religion without being religious. What exactly is the difference between religion and relationship.

This is the way I see it. Some may disagree. Religion bound means that you believe that everything has to be a certain way. That you judge not only others but yourself for not conforming to your ideals of faith. That you do not respect other beliefs and try to force your beliefs and opinions on others around you. You basically conform to your ideal of what a Christian, Muslim, Jew, whatever is. That you are bound by the rules that you or others have set up for you and not by your faith. That you look down on those that do not believe the same way that you do and feel that you need to get them to view things exactly the way you do. That you feel that those that do not believe the same as you do must be bad/evil/destructive. That you do not allow certain things/people/movies/literature/toys what have you into your home because they could be harmful to your faith and the way you see things.

I used to be religion bound. It was not a fun place to be. I used to be extremely judgmental. I used to think that toys or books were evil and needed to be banned from my house. I used to think that people who would allow such practices must be evil. I had a fear of those that were different because different was not good. So not a fun person to be around.

So what am I now? I have a relationship and not a religion. I have a relationship with God and my Lord Jesus. I am not bound by the way people think a Christian should be. I'm a Liberal Christian...I think that says it all. I'm left-wing baby, on most things.

But what does that mean? To me that means that I strive to be a good person. I strive to volunteer my time to help others. I give as much as I can. I listen with an open heart and try (try being key) not to judge others. I try to model love and not condemnation. I admit that I am fallible. I admit that I am not perfect and I'm not going to tell you how to live your life by my ideals. I no longer believe that things are going to corrupt me by their mere presence. I try to stay God-minded and not rule minded. I am a child of the most high God and as all children, you misbehave at times. You don't always follow the rules, but you try. You try to better yourself. I don't try to break the rules but rule breaking happens. I am human, I am flesh. Mistakes happen. I have certain beliefs that I strive to achieve on a daily basis. I do not ever want to make anyone feel condemned or that I think I am better than they are because of my beliefs. I want to model the love of God. I want to be more like Jesus. It's something I strive for. I do not want to limit my friends to just people that believe the way I do. Yes, it is good to surround yourself with Christians but at the same time, Jesus didn't just hang out with the believes. He was down with the tax collectors and prostitutes, giving them the gospel and showing them God's love and His love. Yes I do live my life based on the ideals I see in the Bible. But I don't see living by the Bible as being religion bound. I have my own opinions of what the bible tells me. But ultimately the most important thing is faith and trusting in God. Not being judgemental. Letting God take care of your battles. Loving others. Forgiving past wrongs. Giving to others. Letting God be the ultimate judge and protector and leaving it in His holy hands.

I think for a lot of people its the judgement aspect of being religion bound that gets them. That's the people that really and truly stick out in their mind. You did this therefore I think poorly of you. Or, you are this therefore I *know* that I am better than you. But the bible says that we should not judge others because the way we judge others is the way that God will judge us. Everyone is fallible. Everyone makes mistakes. No one is perfect. It was Jesus that said "Let he who has no sin cast the first stone." No one wants to hang out with a person who is going to sit there and judge them for everything little thing they do. It is no my place nor anyone else to judge others. No one person is better than any other person.

Hypocrisy is another aspect that comes up when I talk to people. Jeff especially. This is what turned him away from Catholicism. I admit that I am fallible. People know that I am a Christian but I am definitely not going to tell you how to live your life. I will tell you how my faith has helped me but I will not sit there and preach to you about how you should live or why you should believe the way that I do. This is because I am not perfect. I have my issues. I have my hang-ups that I am trying to work through. If my house is messy I'm not going to sit there and tell you how you should clean yours up you know. I never want to give a perfect facade because life has its ups and downs. My life didn't suddenly become sunshine and roses once I became a Christian. I'm still me, but now I have a strong faith that guides me and helps me to pull through the tough times.

So when it comes to religion vs relationship, I know what I have and what it means to me. A relationship is much more freeing than religion. Religion deals with fear, condemnation and guilt. I never want to be in that place ever again.

A great quote from Ghandi says, "I like your Christ. I do not like your Christians. They are so unlike your Christ." For me, I don't want to be included in that statement. I want to be more like Jesus. I want to model his love and acceptance and unconditional faith to those around me. I try, I hope that I'm doing a pretty decent job of it.