Religion often feels like a set of rules. I mean, God did give Abraham the 10 Commandments after all, so it's not that far-fetched. In the Old Testament, Believers had to have rules. They needed something to keep them in check or the queue at the temple would have been ridonuklous. God probably thought giving them rules would keep the number of animals slaughtered for repentance down, too.
After Calvary, all the rules (mostly) went away. Because Jesus paid the ultimate price, was the ultimate sacrifice, there didn't need to be constant bloodshed for the remission of sins. Instead, relationships with Christ could be more personal. Every time you messed up, you didn't have to go hunting for a lamb and a dagger to right the wrong. It meant all your family wouldn't necessarily know when you did wrong: it was between you and God. Thank God for that.
After Calvary, all the rules (mostly) went away. Because Jesus paid the ultimate price, was the ultimate sacrifice, there didn't need to be constant bloodshed for the remission of sins. Instead, relationships with Christ could be more personal. Every time you messed up, you didn't have to go hunting for a lamb and a dagger to right the wrong. It meant all your family wouldn't necessarily know when you did wrong: it was between you and God. Thank God for that.
Still, we Christians seem to be gluttons for punishment. We don't seem content with having our relationship with Christ be just that: our relationship with Christ. We get caught up in getting everyone else involved; in the showmanship of Christianity. We want everyone to know how righteous we are; how holy. It's why laying on of hands and speaking in tongues exists. Not necessarily another way to communicate with God as it as another display of holiness.
We seem strung up on the need for other people to know our struggles and our successes. It's why so many Catholics spend hours in musty closets, confessing sins to a possibly judgmental and definitely equally flawed human. It doesn't make sense, really. Calvary gave us permission to keep our relationship to ourselves. I'm not insinuating that Christians shouldn't be witness and that they shouldn't go soulwinning/knocking on doors/calling but I am insinuating that we feed off our holiness. We go to the altar and weep and wail and wait for other people to whisper how brave and holy we are. What a close relationship we must have with the Lord.
What's that verse? "Where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst." That verse is the very reason I don't believe in organized religion. Organized religion begs for more than two or three to assemble. Churches today have two or three hundred. And 75% of those people are caught up in the showmanship of holiness.
What did Jesus die for if not for the right for us to keep our relationship personal? If not for the opportunity to liberate ourselves from everyone else miraculously seeing past their motes and being critical of our beams? Every time we flaunt our struggles as if they were tallies in a tic-tac-toe tournament, we belittle what Christ did on the cross.
By all means, "bear ye one another's burdens" but there's a difference in burden sharing and fawning for the most improved Christian award. Or is it just me?
We seem strung up on the need for other people to know our struggles and our successes. It's why so many Catholics spend hours in musty closets, confessing sins to a possibly judgmental and definitely equally flawed human. It doesn't make sense, really. Calvary gave us permission to keep our relationship to ourselves. I'm not insinuating that Christians shouldn't be witness and that they shouldn't go soulwinning/knocking on doors/calling but I am insinuating that we feed off our holiness. We go to the altar and weep and wail and wait for other people to whisper how brave and holy we are. What a close relationship we must have with the Lord.
What's that verse? "Where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst." That verse is the very reason I don't believe in organized religion. Organized religion begs for more than two or three to assemble. Churches today have two or three hundred. And 75% of those people are caught up in the showmanship of holiness.
What did Jesus die for if not for the right for us to keep our relationship personal? If not for the opportunity to liberate ourselves from everyone else miraculously seeing past their motes and being critical of our beams? Every time we flaunt our struggles as if they were tallies in a tic-tac-toe tournament, we belittle what Christ did on the cross.
By all means, "bear ye one another's burdens" but there's a difference in burden sharing and fawning for the most improved Christian award. Or is it just me?