“You are near in their mouth but far from their mind” Jeremiah 12:2b
The grand cathedral stretched towards the heavens. Its twin spires reached up, seemingly in desperation to touch the place its god resided. And the people scurried about it with constant activity. Religion causes much activity. There is a mass to attend, penance to give, sins to be confessed, money to deposit, and many saints to be prayed to. As I sit and watch the stirring, I also notice that the activity of religion does not simply adhere to the ones within the grand cathedral. Countless people pass the structure in the street and cross themselves. A physical show of reverence as the sign of the cross is given and a kiss of the hand that made it seals the deal. Yet a show of reverence to whom or what is only truly known within the heart that offered the gesture. But as I gaze upon man’s incarnation of the worship of Almighty God in 2022, I drift back to the observation that the prophet Jeremiah uttered some 2,600 years before in the 12th chapter of the book named after him. And it causes my mind to ponder. God seems near in the mouths of these people, but how near is He in their hearts? Do these people simply know religion or do they know the one true God personally? Are they professing religion or professing Christ?
Organized religion has historically been a blight upon the the true intent of Godly worship. Mankind’s organized attempt to worship and pay homage to God has always fallen short. Just as trying to clean your shoes while standing in the mud, how does one steeped in sin truly exit that nature in order to enter into the presence of God? The examples are plenty throughout God’s Word of the efforts of sinners to create an organized system that truly got to the heart of worshipping the Lord. Yet we consistently saw those sinful human hands spiral out of control as their wants and demands slowly superseded the wants and demands of God. A simple 10 commandments of worship and obedience delivered from Mount Sinai became a staggering 613 rules as the human hands of the Sanhedrin caressed them into something that was much more about behavior than repentance. The early church of 1400’s Europe moved from worshipping Christ using the guidance of His Word, to an exclusive club of supersaints that claimed to have the ability to offer blessings and the forgiveness of sins for money. And it’s clearly and easily seen in the organized religion of today, systems rife with financial greed, sexual scandal and personal empire building through cult type hierarchies. It’s clear and easy to observe in the Bible, God asks for the worship and praise of His people because He is worthy, yet as man organizes a system to deliver this, it fails time after time.
It’s not about the religion it’s about the relationship. I learned this phrase in Spanish very early in my cross-cultural journey into Mexico. Not necessarily out of desire, but out of necessity. You see, we live in a world that is steeped, nay, even devoured by organized religion. People are so hung up on the words Catholic, Baptist, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, and countless others, that they miss the most important word…Jesus. You see, before Christ finished His work on the cross, access to God was very different. As Jesus took his last breath upon this planet, the veil was torn. Access to God was made personal. No longer was a human priest from a Holy tribe necessary to grant access to Almighty God, Jesus made a way. The cross changed it all.
“It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. Jesus is “‘the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone.’ Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.” Acts 4:10-12
Please hear this ever so carefully. Jesus did not come to this planet to create organized manmade religion. He came to offer all sinners personal eternal redemption from the penalty of their sins. That is something no church building, organization, pastor, priest, custom, tradition, idol, saint, or system can do. Salvation is found nowhere else than the Holy and perfect name of Jesus Christ. Today, don’t look to religion, look to Jesus. Don’t look to a system, look directly to the Holy Word of God. For it’s not about the religion, its about the relationship…don’t profess religion, profess your faith in the One that saved your soul upon the Cross…Jesus Christ.
“Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6
Dios te Bendiga ~ Dan
Comments