Thoughts on Religion

"The one who eats must not despise the one who abstains, and the one who abstains must not pass judgment on the one who eats; for God has welcomed him. Who are you to pass judgment on someone else's servant? Before his own master he stands or falls. And he will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make him stand. (For) one person considers one day more important than another, while another person considers all days alike. Let everyone be fully persuaded in his own mind. Whoever observes the day, observes it for the Lord. Also whoever eats, eats for the Lord, since he gives thanks to God; while whoever abstains, abstains for the Lord and gives thanks to God.None of us lives for oneself, and no one dies for oneself.For if we live, we live for the Lord, and if we die, we die for the Lord; so then, whether we live or die, we are the Lord's" -Romans 14:2-8

 We had just finished reading the book of Leviticus. It was quite monotonous at some points. At others our minds were spinning with the odd laws and rituals and such God seemed to require from His people. They seem very stringent and oppressive to those of us who spent a lifetime without them. This of course sparked discussion as we asked why a God who is love and values freedom creates such a stringent religious code.

Well, on memory of what we already read so far in our journey through the Bible, we remember that at the beginning there was no religion. The only law? Don't eat from the forbidden tree. After the fall? Don't kill anyone.

For hundreds of years mankind lived free from imposition from God. The only religions were the ones they created. The only rituals were the ones they chose. God never asked for sacrifice, yet people did sacrifice.

Later, after 400 years of oppression under Egyptian rule, the Israelites were accustomed to stringent codes and religion. When they left Egypt and into the wilderness, God gave them 10 basic commandments, and ordered a meeting place for man and God. That was it.

After God gave Moses the commandments, Moses came down and saw the Israelites indulging in the religions they acquired from the pagan cultures they were steeped in.

I believe that God saw the need for an ordered, proper religion. They needed it. God didn't need anything that He ordered them. It was all for them. It was what they wanted. He preferred free relationship with His people, but after reading, I realized they forced His hand. It was either create the religion they needed, or destroy them.

Today I meet many kinds of Christians from all walks of life and all denominations. Some I meet are completely on board with the freedom and grace message and don't have any need for ritual, a place or building for religious services and such. Yet I meet others that live-- and thrive spiritually in the more ordered environment.

I have had many conversations with a friend of mine who became a messianic Jew. He was telling me the joy and the excitement and life he got out of following this sect of Christianity. I remember arguing with him and stating that those things were no longer necessary and that freedom and love were the only laws now.

Then the Spirit spoke to me and told me that the man needed this. That it was so good for him and it would serve to bring him to a meaningful journey and walk with God all of His own and I wasn't to interfere.

I think the point is that God meets us where we live and at our point of need. As for myself, I was born and raised in an oppressive religion and environment. I needed to know freedom and grace. The rituals and the religion were tripping me up.

Then I meet people who know that they are free and are loved, and are enjoying grace, and they desire to learn the principles of their religion and crave something more tangible they can get a hold of.

The apostle Paul tells us that both parties are correct. Both parties are doing what their hearts tell them and are going based on their needs and what works best for them. At the end of the day? We are all the children of a loving Father who lavishes overwhelming grace on us. Some people need to be free from institutional religion and order. some people need that very thing. God bless us both.