Surrendering Religiosity

by Pastor Paul Wallace,

Wayside Bible Chapel, Sedona AZ

Many do not understand the difference between Religion and Spirituality. Christ did not want us to found Churches to “guilt and shame” ourselves or “whip, bludgeon, and thump” each other as an “in order” to submit to Him. The Church is simply the corporate structure for the word to be disseminated from and for community to gather and Inspire each other. What many call spirituality is what he wishes for us to have. Spirituality is a living breathing relationship with something greater than ourselves that allows us to have love, compassion, empathy, and grace for not only each other but also ourselves with hope and faith in a better future for us all. As Christians this “Higher Power” is Christ Himself.

Genesis 21:10-11 

10 and she said to Abraham,

"Get rid of that slave woman

and her son,

for that slave woman's son

will never share

in the inheritance

with my son Isaac." 

11 The matter distressed

Abraham greatly

because it concerned his son.

Sarah had enough of Hagar and Ishmael. She now had the son of promise. The Apostle Paul tells us this is a picture of Judaism and Christianity (Galatians 4:22, 31). The one was an effort of man trying to bring about the promises of God through human effort. The other is the promise coming to pass by faith. Eventually all our human effort to please God must give way to what God does for us by grace through faith. Those born in the natural way (human effort) will persecute those born of the promise (by grace through faith). All your striving will not make you like the Son. Only a yielding to His life in you can transform you so that His life comes through.

The human effort caused Abraham a great deal of pain in this passage. He loved Ishmael greatly. He had grown attached to the product of his human effort. That is only natural if that human effort is a son, but we grow attached to our religious efforts as well. When it was time for him to go, Abraham was greatly distressed.

Some of our human efforts, works to please God, 'good' things but things not done at the direction of the Spirit, will have to pass away too. Can we honestly recognize that they are the product of our human efforts and let go of them in preference to the things of God? It will hurt, but that is because we have grown attached to our own ways.

Consider:

Is there a religious effort I need to let go of?