Religion or Relationship // God Wants to Heal Your Heart, Part 7

So often – religion is about the things we do. It’s about being seen in the right places, showing up, doing things for God. And I can easily fall into that sort of thing. But I remember the shock I had when I realised that God isn’t so much into religion, as He is into a relationship.

I remember a decade and a half ago when I became a Christian. I remember the first time I took myself off to Church. Man, it was a scary thing to do. My frame hadn’t darkened the doorstep of a Church for many years. Other than the odd wedding or funeral. It was a sunny day.

I spotted out this little Church building not far from where I lived. So I rocked up, pretty much just on time so I wouldn’t have to talk to anyone. Didn’t realise back then that they always started 10 minutes late. And this man greeted me at the door. He was wearing a red tie and a white shirt with short sleeves. “Hi, my name is Phil”, he said and he shook my hand enthusiastically and smiled.

So I went inside and I looked around and I thought to myself, “I wonder where the minister is?” I was looking for a guy in robes or at the very least, with a dog collar that ministers used to wear in those days. Couldn’t find one. And truly, I had no idea who “the minister” was until it came time for the sermon and Phil got up and preached it. “This is pretty odd” I thought. ”Could it be that he’s the minister? Where’s the collar? Where are the robes?"

I learned so much from Phil. And one of the most important things he ever taught me was that it’s not about religion and ritual. That’s not what God is looking for. It’s about something else entirely.

Phil Littlejohn is his name. He became a giant in my life. A man who encouraged me and taught me and through whom God brought a lot of healing to my life. But the old Phil refused to be called, “Reverend Littlejohn”. I never saw him in a dog collar or in robes. And he talked so much about the fact that living our lives for God had nothing whatsoever to do with the outward trappings of a religion.

Now that was a shock to me. It’s just not what I expected. I expected those outward trappings. But you know something, the more I read what God has to say, the more I read about what Jesus actually did and said, the more I had to come to the conclusion Phil was absolutely right.

Is there anything wrong with robes or collars or choirs, all that stuff? No, not at all. But those things, well they’re not the main game. God’s not interested so much in the rituals we perform as He is in the relationship we have with Him.

Have a listen to this exchange between some of the religious leaders of the day and Jesus. It’s so powerful. Have a listen. It comes from Matthew chapter 15, verses 1 to 9:

Then the Pharisees and the scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said, ‘Why do your disciples break the tradition of our elders for they do not wash their hands before they eat?’ Jesus answered them, ‘Why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? For God says, ”Honour your father and your mother and whoever speaks evil of the father or mother must surely die? But you say that ‘Whoever tells a father or mother whatever support you might have had from me is given to God’, then that person need not honour the father.

‘So for the sake of your tradition you make void the word of God. You hypocrites. Isaiah prophesied rightly about you when he said, ‘This people honours me with their lips but with their hearts they are far from Me. In vain do they worship Me teaching human precepts as doctrines.’

I find that sobering because I’m a baby boomer, a post war generation. We like order and organisation. That’s why I had the expectations that I did of what a Church should be like. And I constantly thank God for giving me Phil that first day I walked into a Church. Because He used Phil to set me free from religion.

If you’re younger than me you won’t find that exchange between Jesus and the scribes and Pharisees so much sobering. But probably you’ll find it liberating because you’re just not into structures and hierarchies and all that stuff. But it’s this one sentence that Jesus spoke that I really want to hone in on ’cause it’s the word of God that has the power to breathe life into you and me today. Have a listen. He said:

This people honours me with their lips but their hearts are far from me. In vain do they worship me teaching human precepts as doctrines.

Because you know something, the world over there are millions, hundreds of millions, even billions of people who think that by going to Church and going through the religious motions and rituals and ticking the religious boxes that somehow this would put them in favour with God. That that’s what it’s all about. That by doing what the religious leaders say they w