Religion has to do with God?
I don't like the word "religion", it's a term that has accumulated so much baggage over the years. It's associated with history, culture, violence and a rigidity of belief. But at the same time, the term also became so light-weight in the sense that religion is talked about on level grounds with minimalism, self-love, and being vegan! Nowadays, anything that is the least bit "spiritual" or "non-materialistic" can be called a "religion".
The situation for Christianity isn't all that different. When a person hears "Christian" they think of people who pray before a meal, read the bible, and go to church. "Christianity" is labeled as being overly conservative, just another chapter embedded within Western history and culture. Where is the love and passion that Christianity is all about? Instead of being named "Christians" why can't we just be called "people who love Jesus"? That's all there is to it, literally. Wouldn't that be so much more straightforward?
I sometimes feel bad about not reading the bible frequently enough. But it's because I was seeing Christianity the way the outside world saw it. The reason I felt this guilt was because by not reading the bible consistently every day, I was somehow not upholding the requirements needed to be a "good Christian". God wants us to read the bible because he has so much to teach us, so many words of love and comfort for us. He knows that the only way that we will find true satisfaction in life is through hearing him speak. Reading the bible was never meant to be ritualistic. He tells us to read because he knows we need it and he knows it can do so much good in our lives.
God loves to make us choose and reading the bible is no different. It is a conscious choice we must make, again, and again, and again. In a way, choosing to read the bible is a sign of humility and a declaration of our love towards him. How much greater is the desire to read when we begin to see it as a pleasure and an opportunity rather than a burden and obligation for being "Christian".
The situation for Christianity isn't all that different. When a person hears "Christian" they think of people who pray before a meal, read the bible, and go to church. "Christianity" is labeled as being overly conservative, just another chapter embedded within Western history and culture. Where is the love and passion that Christianity is all about? Instead of being named "Christians" why can't we just be called "people who love Jesus"? That's all there is to it, literally. Wouldn't that be so much more straightforward?
I sometimes feel bad about not reading the bible frequently enough. But it's because I was seeing Christianity the way the outside world saw it. The reason I felt this guilt was because by not reading the bible consistently every day, I was somehow not upholding the requirements needed to be a "good Christian". God wants us to read the bible because he has so much to teach us, so many words of love and comfort for us. He knows that the only way that we will find true satisfaction in life is through hearing him speak. Reading the bible was never meant to be ritualistic. He tells us to read because he knows we need it and he knows it can do so much good in our lives.
God loves to make us choose and reading the bible is no different. It is a conscious choice we must make, again, and again, and again. In a way, choosing to read the bible is a sign of humility and a declaration of our love towards him. How much greater is the desire to read when we begin to see it as a pleasure and an opportunity rather than a burden and obligation for being "Christian".
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