God has Revealed Himself

 

"No, God has not revealed himself in any religion, including Christianity. He has revealed Himself in His Son."

-Karl Barth

The word religion comes from the Latin word religio, which means "to bind together" or "re-align." It generally indicates that something is separated or broken and in need of restoration. In spiritual practices, religion is any pathway that leads you to God or sets you in right standing with God. The baseline of most religion is that humans are separated and unrighteous in the eyes of the divine; therefore, one must do something to get close to God, be accepted by God, or "get right" with God. On top of that, it is normally grounded upon a system of reward and punishment (Do good, get good. Do bad, get bad), and it stems from the subconscious notion of — "If I do good, God will bless me. If I do bad, God will curse me."

Jesus was born into the religious structure of Judaism, which operated from the Old Mosaic Covenant. The Jews believed that following the 613 commandments of the law made them right with God. However, this system of works-based righteousness and performance never produced its assumed return on investment and only brought them (the Jews) a sense of unworthiness, shame, guilt, and sin consciousness. Paul highlights this in his letter to the Romans, "Therefore no one will be justified in His sight by works of the law. For the law merely brings awareness of sin." (Romans 3:20).

Through the incarnation God chose to be born into a strict religious system of law and performance so that he could bring those in bondage out of this treadmill of suppression and into the liberating reality of full acceptance. "But when the fullness of the time came, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons and daughters." (Galatians 4:4-5).

In the gospel of Matthew, Jesus speaks a subversive message of rest to the law keeping puritans that had spent their entire life working, striving, and performing by doing good-for-nothing religious jumping jacks, "Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest." (Matthew 11:28-29). Jesus came to teach us how to recover our life from the strenuous strain and demands of religion. At the rock-bottom place of emptiness, burnout, exhaustion — feeling as though we are not good enough — we are then met with overwhelming love, limitless mercy, and rejuvenating peace.

Unfortunately, conditional ideologies have infiltrated Christianity distorting the gospel message of rest and liberation by reinstituting law-based conditions such as — if you go to church, read your bible daily, say the right prayer, join our denomination, live holy and pure enough, or believe the right thing, then you are included, loved, and accepted by God. Other religions outside of Christianity have also adopted different conditional methods that ultimately require you to do something or perform properly to obtain blessing, moksha, nirvana, enlightenment, or salvation.

Conversely, the message that Jesus brought to humanity was not a conditional fear-based obligation but a revolutionary life-giving proclamation that God unconditionally loves, accepts, and includes all of humanity just as we are with zero strings attached. So fall into to reality of rest, recover your life, and ride the unconditional waves of grace!