Religion, Not so Much; Relationship, Definitely.

I love contemporary Christian music and listen to it at work on a daily basis.   Lately I have been hearing a short quote between songs. A quote that I would suppose the station finds to be quite inspirational. It is a quote that I find heretical and scandalous.

“Religion, not so much; Relationship, definitely.”

This is not a Catholic radio station and does not profess Catholic theology or teaching. Evidently what it does teach is rejection of the Kingdom of God, and what Jesus came to this Earth and lived for. Jesus lived to establish his Kingdom on Earth, the Church, and more specifically and biblically, the Catholic Church, which would be considered a religion, a Faith. If we reject the Kingdom, which it appears Protestant radio stations promote, then we reject Christ. We cannot have relationship with Christ without accepting our place and purpose in his Kingdom, and our place and purpose in his Kingdom is for relationship not only with him, but with all subjects of this Kingdom, which expands the realms of Heaven and Earth. The whole law of God, which encompasses the Old and New Testaments is Love of God, and Love of Neighbor, which means love of God and his Kingdom! So, to deny religion is to deny the Kingdom and perhaps deny your citizenship in that Kingdom. This is treading in very dangerous waters, and leads to paths of moral relativism.

Most of us deny religion because we feel that it is restrictive and has too many rules. We don’t want to live by antiquated laws and teachings that the Church refuses to change.  We think that the Church just doesn’t get it and is just too stubborn to get with the times. That is just not so.

The Church stands for Truth, and always will. Truth is Jesus Christ (John 14; 6), and Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow (Hebrews 13:8.). Through Him, Christ, all things were made. He is the master carpenter and the maker of all creation. He made the processes, the natures and the divine law of the Heavens and the Earth. He knows how we tick and how we work, and he knows what will bring us happiness and joy. He created the natural laws that can lead us to the lives of greatness we were created for. That is why God gave us the Law, and why Christ expanded it. When we choose to live in another way, we bring death and destruction upon ourselves. When we live and use our lives in ways that God never intended, we pervert his creation, and these kinds of perversions will only mare our lives and the Kingdom he created us to become an vital and unique member of. We can bring something to the Kingdom of God that nobody else can. That is what a life lived for greatness does! The thing is, a life lived in greatness does not assume worldly standards and dictates, and succumbs to temporal ways and sin. Look to the lives of the Saints for such examples, again something that many Protestants reject. Interesting, isn’t it?

Religion, is the united community that strives to live lives for the Kingdom and is instrumental for our ability to live the way God wants us to. Religion will guide us to leave behind our own wants and wills and our desire to live our lives the way we want to. It isn’t surprising though, that so many reject this, pride, arrogance, greed, envy and the other vices are very difficult to overcome and battle, even when living within the confines that the Church protects us within. Many just don’t even try. It is way too difficult. It takes too much effort.

Holiness doesn’t come easy, neither does greatness; at least the greatness that God calls us to.

So, sure relationship without religion, however those without religion define that, is a cop-out. I am pretty sure that God expects much more from us than a big cop-out. Relationship without religion, is how most of us live these days, it means relationship without commitment. Relationship without sacrifice, and relationship without inconvenience. It means we can be in relationship and still do whatever we want, because we can define that relationship, without the dictates of religion, to be whatever it is we want it to be, and not what God wants it to be.

So, I will continue to listen to the songs that I have come to love, and can speak to me on different levels, but I will remain committed to my religion which leads me into the opportunity for a much deeper and intimate relationship with God. A relationship pursued by me on God’s terms and not my own. Thank goodness for my Faith, a religion of Faith that holds me accountable to a Kingdom of love, charity and relationship in cohesion with the Body of Christ, and not one that is independent from that.