The Poison of Religion and the Restoration through Relationship

God is about relationship. This is why legalism is so poisonous; it has you focused on your behavior to some moral standard and not on your heart from which that behavior is sourced.

Whereas legalism is to get you in enough fear to make you ‘behave’, God came to fill you with his love so your would reflect and re-radiate His heart to others. What did God do with the man and woman he made in the Garden of Eden? He walked and talked with them — he related to them in harmonious, conversational Intimacy.

What did Adam and Eve lose through rebellion/disobedience to God’s loving authority? Through breaking trust with God? The lost that communion. They also lost life, lost authority over nature and much more, losing harmonious intimacy with each other too.

What did Jesus do with his disciples — those closest to himself? He walked and talked with them! He lived life alongside them. Yes he taught truth, yes he demonstrated divine power, but this was done in the context of day-in-and-out, INTIMATE COMPANIONSHIP with them. God is after the relationship more than the details of your theology. If God has your real heart, he can straighten out any kinks in your theology over time.

What do we re-gain with Jesus as savior and redeemer? We regain the open door from God the Father to enjoy conversational intimacy with Him. This is the POINT of being forgiven — not to try to keep a list of rules to stay somehow “clean enough” to keep God’s anger and disappointmet towards you at bay, but to approach the Throne of grace to stay aligned with God — to have the God-connection restored that lets us now ‘Walk in the Spirit.” See, it is about being close to God, about dealing with the sin that was blocking relationship with a holy God, so that conversational intimacy could be enjoyed again!

God already knows your inadequacies, your daily sins, your sin next week. He is after your HEART, because, in love, he earnestly desires to give your HIS heart. He wa ta your honest openness to Himself — your vulnerable authenticity SO THAT in his presence, he can renovate and transform you into maturity, into abiding to bear much fruit, into LIFE! Life is being in God’s Presence.

Throughout the Old Testament, God,declares his overarching intention for the revelation of Himself and His chosen people — “I will be their God and they will be my people.” This points to closeness. They can’t be God’s people without KNOWING their God. This is a relationship of knowing and being known. This is not a relationship of force, fear, or intimidation, NOR is it a “religious” relationship; rather it is a relationship of us trusting and open-heartedly responding to loving authority.

Jesus was incarnated and died AS sin (he literally became sin itself on the cross, the book of Hebrews tells us as well 2 Corinthians 5:21) so that by killing the sin that was condemning us and keeping us from God, we could, enjoy right relationship with God, not in some pseudo-spiritual reverential distance — just the opposite! What does Jesus pray for his Followers? Sin had to DIE (not just be managed by some religion) in order for us to TRULY COME ALIVE, alive both with and in Christ Jesus Himself!

That they would be ONE, JUST AS the Trinity is one — I in them and they in me, that they would be ONE in us. This oneness is not a mathematical mushed up together into a pureé; rather it is a singleness of heart, perspective and purpose. THAT is some ultimate intimacy. We are united in the Person of Jesus, United in the Kingdom of God, United in the family of God. Our heart’s response and relationship to God and his leading is central. If God wanted worker robots, he would have created those instead of us. He wants all of us — mind, body, soul, spirit in right relationship to Himself, and the Bible makes clear, the only right response to God is contrition for distrust and rebellion, and in its place is grateful trust, is humble faith, is joyful praise.

Friends, we need out WHOLE heart for this. That is precisely why the sin issue had to be dealt with so that the transformation (sanctification, renewing of our minds, etc) would occur through connection to God’s heart of grace, through God’s transformative presence in our hearts and lives — being more and more aligned with God (that oneness of purpose and understanding) that happens in relationship, meaning happens in his Presence.

How does the Bible make its final declaration? It is an invitation to enjoy life together: the Spirit and the Bride say “come, drink the water of LIFE! Drink up and drink your FILL”. (Revelation 21) This is not a God trying to keep your heart at a distance, this is not a God that identifies you according to past behavior, but is rather a lavish love that invites us to PARTAKE of the full benefits of intimacy.. intimacy with Himself.

As David said so perfectly, literally singing to God: “I love to run in the path of your commands because you have set me heart free!” (Psalm 119:32)