"Religion is man-centered, focused on accomplishment and resulting in pride.
Authentic Christianity, however, is God-centered, focusing on humility and resulting in grace from God."
~Pastor Larry Szyman, Faith Community Church
October 4, 2008
So true...so why is this such a struggle for us as a people? Why do we so often get it backwards? What are your thoughts?
6 comments:
Grace can be so hard for us to really rest in and wrap our minds around, don't you think? It's easy for me to get stuck in my own little world instead of seeing God for who he is.
Inthestory, yes, I think you're right. And I think it's easy to get caught up in doing all the right things--even the good things like being a good wife and mom--but mistakenly believing we need to perform or have mastered those skills to a certain level to be pleasing to God.
I sometimes get caught between wanting to obey God out of love for and fear of him and thinking I can somehow earn his grace. I KNOW that isn't possible, but my heart doesn't always feel that way. I can be motivated by wanting approval from others, ie praise from my supervisor or positive feedback from my students, which spills over into my relationship with God, as if there is something I can do to earn his approval. I am still working on accepting his love as a gift.
Bria, well put.
"Religion" is such safe place to be. Services follow the same pattern each Sunday. You can memorize creeds and prayers to say by rote. Everything has order and tradition so you know what happens next. It's very much on the surface. It's scary to delve deeper into the more personal relationship with God. Being completely humble before God is scary because you don't know what's going to be revealed or what will be asked of you. It feels much safer to follow my church's status quo. But when we do put ourselves in a vulnerable place before God, we can receive that grace and thrive in it. Am I making any sense?
Nicole, yes--making perfect sense. More good thoughts! You make a good point about "religion" being such a safe place in a sense...it isn't risky like authentic Christianity is.
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