So, what did ya think?
It is a great message. Jesus did come to save the world. He did come to bring salvation to a broken people. If you watch this video you would come to a conclusion that religion is bad, and needs to go away.
Wait....what?
There seems to be a disconnect here. Did Jesus really come to abloish religion? What is religion?
Well, like any good young adult, I googled the definition of religion. This is what came up.
So from this, to summarize, it is a belief, a worship, a discussion, and a system of faith. Did Jesus really come to abolish that?
I've grown up in the church my entire life, so maybe I'm a little biased. I've been a part of a lot of different things that one could call "church." I've been apart of this religion known as Christianity for a long time. I was taught how to love God and others. In partaking in this "religion" I've broken down when facing life decisions or pains. I've had to comfort my brothers and sisters who are going through the same thing. I've sang songs with some wonderful people, and I've been up late at night discussing deep theological issues of the world.
But apparently, Jesus came to abolish it?
This is not a new thing. For years I've heard this claim of "It's about a relationship, not religion." May I propose a different outlook?
Both are needed. A relationship with Jesus is a very vertical connection. Jesus guides us on a path. We need that relationship. We need to walk with Jesus on this road, no matter what path he needs us to go on. We need to grow and experience Christ in a relational level.
That's not all though. I've seen so many people come to Christ and believe and call him Savior, but that is it. This world is a TOUGH place. Sometimes we need other people to be on this journey with us. We waver in our faith. How do we strength it? We get challenged from other people. We get accountability from others. We discuss our faith with others. We worship God together. You see, religion is a horizontal connection. It is the people of Earth reaching up to God and bring heaven down to Earth. It is feeding the hungry as a worship to God. It is supporting each other. We need to share that faith connection with people around us. Man cannot live a lone. We are made to be with others.
Now, I am FULLY aware that this religion has done some not so great things. I cannot ignore the oppression and hatred that has been done in the name of Christianity. But here is the thing, to those of you saying that you want to leave the church because of the oppression and hatred made by Christians...STOP! TURN AROUND! WE NEED YOU!
We are not a perfect people. No one is. The fact that there are a vast majority of you that believe religion needs to be dismissed because of the hurt it causes means that we need those same people to come help us change it. Perfection is a journey. We don't get it right. We need your passion and your fire for Jesus Christ so we can do His work here on Earth, to bring the Kingdom of God to Earth. I am begging, yes BEGGING, you to stay. I will not pretend that I have it all right. I will not pretend that religion has it all right. We are a messy messy people. But together, we can go on this journey. Jesus commissioned Peter to start a church, a community of believers, a religion. My life has been changed and shaped by religion. I believe that Jesus came, not to abolish religion, but to fulfill the law and the Prophets. Let's break bread together and celebrate this gift and this miracle and this love. That is what religion is about. We need to walk with Jesus and go in his ways and trust him. That is what being in a relationship with Jesus is about. We need both. We need both belief, and practice. Another beautiful collision.
If ya want a cool video to go along with it, check this one out:
A really good article on this subject can also be found here (warning:it is a VERY long read)
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mike-morrell/jesus-and-religions-relationship-status_b_1213243.html?ncid=edlinkusaolp00000008
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