God of Relationship – 23 March 2009

Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples: The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat.  So you must obey them and do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practise what they preach. They tie up heavy loads and put them on men's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them. Everything they do is done for men to see….   Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men's faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to. Matthew 23:1-5, 13-14 [NIV]

I have sometimes heard Christians say, “I am not religious”, in an attempt to emphasise that it is fundamentally about our relationship with God, not observing religious rules. Although I have thought that quite a good point, I’ve never said this myself, because Jesus does give us commands to follow. He says, “If you love me, you will obey what I command”. John 14:15 [NIV]

Jesus does seem to lay into the Pharisees a lot about weighing people down with rules. So, isn’t it a bit hypocritical for Jesus to give out rules of his own to follow? I don’t think so, because Jesus commands are about fostering relationship with God and those around us. The Pharisees rules tended to wither relationship, as faith becomes a system of heavy, unthinking rituals.

I met a guy in the gym yesterday and we started talking about Church. He commented that he thought it was particularly good for young people to be involved with a church because it gave them a structure for their lives.  There is truth in that.  I think he was thinking of ritualistic religion though, which may control children, but not give them that life-giving relationship with the Creator. This is partly why Jesus came, to move us from the law to life in the Spirit.

As Christians we have the privilege of knowing God personally. It’s what marks us out as different from other religions.  As we seek to follow Jesus’ commands, let’s remember it is about developing our relationship with God and others and not about ritual observance.