Once upon a time in my life, all I knew about God were things I heard from pastors or my Sunday School teachers. Thinking about it now, it was like knowing Jesus as I know about President Biden or President Buhari right now. All I know about them are things I read on the news or the pages of news media prints. Does that mean I know them? I do not think so.
Once upon a time, I was stuck up on routines of going to church with my parents on Sundays, stuck up on routines of opening my bible only on Sundays, stuck up on routines of only worshipping God on Sunday mornings/afternoons. I knew His commandments as referenced in Exodus 20 but saw them as rigid laws to be obeyed. I was stuck up on saying prayers to God when I needed Him for something; most of the time to perhaps pass my exams or the likes. Was that the life Jesus Christ died for? I do not think so.
I did not even bother to serve God in His vineyard, I mean the urgency of God’s needs and wants wasn’t engraved in my heart as it is now. But I imagine that if I had endeavored to serve God in His vineyard with the mindset I had back then, I would have gotten it all wrong. Writing about this right now, I remember when I finally came to the knowledge of Christ and was so eager to serve Him with all I have. I made the decision to join Jireh’s team at my Youth church back then. My decision was powered by my flesh more or less. My heart is naturally drawn towards giving to the needy and that was what the Jireh team was all about. But thank God for a counselor who God put in my path, he insisted that I asked God the group to join in church. I believe that was the first time I heard God speak to me clearly about something – Goldmine was what He said. Joining that team went ahead to inform me and equip me for more things that God has in store for me to do.
In summary, I perhaps could say that I was playing religion because of my incomplete knowledge and no revelation of God just like the Pharisees before 2016. The Pharisees were very much in the know of what God’s law is but refused to learn about the God who gave the law. They thought so highly of themselves and dimmed themselves the fittest to judge other people– John 8:1-7. They also tried to portray themselves as the most righteous men and women to walk the earth; they made lousy and pretentious prayers for everyone in the temple to know & perhaps think of them as the holiest in town- Luke 18:10. All they talked about was how good and undefeated they were vs speaking about the goodness of the Lord which kept them going.
Interestingly, there are many Pharisees amongst us to date who like to be identified as Christians but have not really given themselves to knowing God for themselves. When Jesus called His disciples, He called them to a place of deeper knowledge of Him which I believe He has called us to as well. This revelation was made to apostle Paul who shared it with us in Ephesians 2:13– We were once far away from God like the Pharisees but He drew us closer to Him through the blood of Jesus. Jesus Christ, through the cross, broke every barrier that separated us from having communion with God.
I strongly believe that playing religion limits us as individuals, it limits us from experiencing the depths of the love of Jesus. Hence, this also hinders the free flow of the love of Jesus through one’s life. Because, really and truly, one cannot give what he or she doesn’t have. The believers in the early church are great examples of what it is like to be transformed through an in-depth relationship with Jesus. They were able to work in unity, they worked towards one goal, and functioned optimally as a team. All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had– Acts 4:32. This verse of the bible speaks volumes of how the congregation of the early church thought.
- They lived and worked in unity
- They recognized that they were only stewards of their wealth & possessions
- They shared all that they have amongst themselves
- They worked in unity to share the gospel of Jesus
These things listed above do not just happen to people on their own accord, it takes the transformation of a life inside out for such to happen. I mean, there was no record of the Pharisees acting in a similar manner. The believers came to this place of reckless abandon through their continuous fellowship with God through the Holy Spirit- Acts 2:42. I think at this point, it is safe to say that the world needs more people who fellowship with God vs people who are just religious.
That you and I will continuously make the decision to quit playing religion to continuously commune with God in Jesus’ name.
Amen.