A Religion that God Finds Pure

The word "religion" elicits such an emotional response from people that many refuse to have the word be associated with them. 

"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." -James 1:27


There are a lot of things I could call myself to describe what I believe in, like Christian, Christ-Follower, Disciple of God, and so on. Or I could say I'm 'spiritual' but not 'religious'. Whatever ideal or religion we ascribe to, we can gauge our belief in it based on what it motivates us to do. Many people believe in a lot of stuff and/or are just plain moral, but not a lot of people are willing to sacrifice for the ideals they hold in high regard. Myself included.

In my last post, I wrote about starving children. I'm tired of doing nothing. I want my actions to demonstrate what I believe; That there is a God that loves us more than we can believe. He made us, loves us, saves us, and offers a place in His house and in His family. That's awesome, it's Grace and Mercy.

That same God, while loving and full of grace, requires action from his children. He calls us to love others more than ourselves. He calls us to give sacrificially to others who can't provide for themselves. He asks us to stand up for those who can't stand up for themselves. To love and give to people who can't return the favor. To Act.

We don't do such things to earn the free gift we've been given, but we do them out of gladness for what we have received freely. We do it to be like the God we believe in. Not that we can be perfect but that as a child tries to copy a parent they love, we would do the same thing with our Holy Father.

I want to encourage myself and my Christian brothers and sisters in Christ to remember we are called to be like our Father in heaven.  Unfortunately,  as Christians, we're more often known for what we're against, than what we're for. It's easy to "Speak the Truth in Love,' but more often than not I am coming to believe thats a big fat excuse to be judgmental of culture without engaging it. It also gives us a false sense of being like the Father without acting like the Father.

Truth be told, I imagine, that most Christians would reject Jesus if they met him right now. They would see Him ministering to the strippers, whores, drug dealers and users, those who have delivered abortions and received them, to those in same sex marriages, and all the other hurting and broken people. Christians would see Him and I believe they would turn their backs on him after speaking the truth in love... We want to judge and condemn, but we don't want to be in the mess getting our hands dirty. We set conditions on our love and acceptance. We project an aura that people have to get right before they can approach us. That's not the message of the Gospel.

Life is not black and white. God has not made us to be good moralist. He has not set us up to be the worlds conduct police. No! He has made us to snuggle up with the people who are broken, dirty, and hurting. To come down to their level and to love them. This does not mean that there is no truth, that everything is relative and that there is no right and wrong. All it means is we should consider talking less, judging less, sharing the truth in love less, and start being with people more, living them, helping them without condition, walking with them.

• Children are starving? What have you done about that?
• People are being exploited? What have you done about that?
• People are hurting? What have you done about that?
• People are without food and shelter? People are without love? People are broken? How have you SHOWN that you love them and are in it with them?

We have to stop reacting/responding from our default religious positions and start taking the time to get to know peoples story, their context. We need to be people known for their love and grace through action. We should be more concerned with sharing the Gospel than sharing why someone is wrong! We must seek righteousness over being right!  

Lastly, we should not forget the parable of the Prodigal Son and the audience Jesus was talking to, the warning that was left lingering in the air. At the end of the story, it wasn't the younger brother who had squandered his father's fortune on prostitutes and "wild" living, sleeping with pigs in the mud, that was standing outside of the Feast of Love. No, it was the judging, angry, self-righteous older brother who had done "everything right," that was standing outside, refusing to come in...

Food for thought...