Religion (John 5)
Sang Won Sur
39You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them
you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about
me, 40yet you refuse to come to me to have life.
Let's try rephrasing these verses in our modern day terms:
You diligently go to church because by attending you feel you are:
spiritual, completing the righteous duty of son/daughter, meeting
God's command about the sabbath, and because Sang is cool (<-- yeah, I
added this part!).
But seriously, it's sad, but many people go to church for years, some
for decades, some until they die without really knowing God. (yes,
people that attend church regularly may end up in hell and they may
never receive the blessings God has for them)
How do you view church? Is it an organization you attend just for the
sake of doing it? You are wasting your time.
For some of you that are "trying" the church thing out ~ I encourage
you to at least go all the way for the short duration you plan to
attend, and strive to meet and experience God instead of just standing
at the side lines. What is the point of wasting your time coming and
leaving not knowing whether God is real or not? Would you stay for a
decade or more just as many people do and never find out how God loves
you personally? How God speaks to you? How God cares about the pains
and sorrows in your life?
If you're not interested in meeting and experiencing God, what's the
point? Why bother?
So when the pastor tells you to pray -- you go deep in prayer and tell
God all that is in your heart. (And to many of you that are seeking,
ask God to reveal Himself to you . . . or ask God to help you through
your tough situation in life). And when the pastor says to sing, sing
with all your heart, give it all you got with the heart intent that
you want to meet and experience God. He will talk to you, and give you
guidance on what you ought to do and where to go from where you are.
(If you need help with this, just let me know).
For some of you churchy people, check your heart that you are not
working Scriptures (and your involvement in church) to manipulate God.
There are many, even pastors, that study Scriptures and make a whole
course or a formula on how to make God work for us. Some pastors
become pastors because this position would give them special previlege
that they may either manipulate God or manipulate people (looking as
if they are people to whom God speaks to in a special voice). Be
careful! Though studies and going deep into Scripture is beneficial,
and though becoming stewards of God is an awesome calling, we must
remember God cannot be manipulated -- Scripture is for us to
understand His heart -- His desire to build a relationship with us.
You don't need a seminary degree to know God or hear from God. You
don't need to be a pastor's pet to have a deep relationship with God.
God gave all of us the innate value -- His child -- that allows us to
connect with Him. That's the missing part in many of our lives . . . a
relationship with our Creator, our Maker, our heavenly Father.
So, don't do the church thing -- but rather, come to meet God and form
a relationship with Him. This is the reason for which Jesus came -- to
love us, that we may love Him back.
-Sang