I’ve heard it said that “Christianity is not a religion, it’s a relationship.” I’ve used that line several times myself. But for some reason unbelievers just don’t buy it. Why not?
Well, I think of what 1 John 4:20 says,
“If someone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen.”
We say we have a relationship with a God that we can’t see, but what do people see us doing in the realm that they can see? They see us going to church, obeying leaders, holding onto traditions, following religious rules and guarding religious systems. They see that any relationships we have are built and maintained through our religious systems and activities. It is only as we are part of the same group and on the same task that we even relate to another believer. They don’t see the church loving one another as family and best friends. So when we tell unbelievers that we are having this amazing relationship with an invisible God in the Spiritual realm, how are they supposed to believe it?
If we aren’t relational with the people around us in the natural realm that people can see, how on Earth can we expect people to believe that we are in relationship with a God that we can’t see? If God is alive and we are having relationship with Him, doesn’t it only make sense that followers of Christ would be the most relational people on the planet? People would not doubt us when we say, “Christianity is a relationship, not a religion” because they would see us truly loving one another and building relationships. Our actions would be matching our words. In other words, what we say we have in the spiritual realm where these people can’t see would be seen in the natural realm that they can see. After all, if something is true in the spiritual then it will be reflected in the natural. If we are having a relationship with God, doesn’t it only make sense that we will become like Him and pursue relationships with others?
Just as I was reading this to my wife she said, “That’s what my brother needs to see.” Her brother lives down in the LA area and all he sees the Christians around him doing is being religious. So no matter how many times he hears, “It’s a relationship” he has seen no evidence of that. Well, the proof is in the putting! Perhaps one of the main reasons the early church grew so rapidly was because their actions of going from house to house and breaking bread together showed the world that this talk of God being our Father who wants a relationship with us was true! After all, look at what His followers do!
Loren
