Losing My Religion

Ephesians 2:1-10 (click link to read passage)

Reflection:

By definition, Christianity is not a “religion.”

From the dawn of humanity, “religions” have been systems of belief through which humans attempt to appease, please, or otherwise affect the “gods.” These systems of belief have a moral and ritual code of conduct. Blessings, or other favors, are procured from the gods through right behavior or ritual action. Essentially, religions are systems by which humans attempt to gain the favor of the gods by their correct behavior.

With this understanding, Christianity is the anti-religion.

Except that we have expended an awful lot of energy turning it back into a religion.

The human sense of fairness understands the world in a tit-for-tat, mechanistic way. If you do good things, good things happen to you; and vice-versa. So, the logic goes, if you follow the rules, you will earn God’s blessings; and if you don’t, you will earn God’s wrath.

With this very human understanding, we have turned Christianity back into a religion. A high percentage of Christians in this country think of it as a system of rules with blessings or curses attached. Many of its most zealous adherents have boiled it down to a moralistic and judgmental system of black-and-white thinking.

Against that backdrop, read verses 8 and 9 of the passage above one more time. Let it sink in. Let it destroy your concept of fairness. Let it erode your moralistic, you-get-what-you-deserve assumptions about God.

Grace is a gift; an action of God that we didn’t cause by being “right.”

Jesus is a gift; an action of God that we didn’t cause by being “right.”

Salvation is a gift; an action of God that none of us earns by being “right.”

If this basic…Biblical…anti-religious truth could sink in, I imagine our churches would be packed. Folks would finally realize that Christians aren’t here to judge others or proclaim themselves better; but merely to celebrate the gifts of God!

So, here’s to losing our religion! Maybe by doing so, we’ll gain a sense of God’s love!

Prayer: God of every time and place; our human understandings have so twisted the message of the cross. Give us the humility and joy that comes from recognizing your free gifts of grace and love. Amen.