What if I told you, Jesus came to abolish religion?
...well I wouldn't, because that would be stupid.
This little gem of "artistic" nonsense has been floating around the internet for a little over a week now, and as of now, has close to sixteen MILLION views. Turns out that in this generation, spreading your message of apostasy and fallacy is easier than ever. And what more? We have a liberalist, uneducated society ready to jump on what seems to be the easiest possible option! In our attempts to be more "accepting" and "all-inclusive" we lose ourselves in a world of convenience, and self-worship. Anything traditional is deemed immoral, idolatrous, or too old-fashioned to be relevant anymore. Proper piety is replaced by rock music, flashing lights, and the opinion that we shouldn't change ourselves and our lifestyles to suit Christ, because He loves us as we are. And He does!... but here is what is wrong with that attitude.
Now, I'm not going to get deeply theological here (I'll leave that to My friend, Gregory), but I will speak to the layman.
Imagine, if you will, that you are in a romantic relationship(Not so much of a stretch, given our Divine Romance). You know this young woman, and she loves you no matter what. That is how it is with Jesus. But what if you decided you don't need dates anymore? You decide to stop being romantic; to let your chivalry fall to pieces. You decide that you'll talk with her, when it suits you, but ignore her desires, the things she asks of you, and her opinions on all the important matters of life.
That sounds pretty terrible, doesn't it? That doesn't sound like a relationship at all... more like an abusive friendship, at best.
With God, we know exactly what He desires of us! He's taught us how He likes to be romanced, and pursued. He's revealed to us what pleases Him, and how we can best serve Him. Why on earth would you ever want to lose that?
Continue to romance God. Go on that date(Mass), bring Him flowers(Rosary), seek His thoughts on the things that matter in this life(Read the Scriptures). If you take away religion from Jesus, you've lost any spark your relationship had. You're trying to phone it in because of your own foolish pride. Your fear of looking like something that does not quite fit in this world, is holding you back from true communion with God. Seek Him... He's already told you how.
May the King of the King's continually open our eyes, that we would not be blinded by heresies that lead us astray. May we always, always seek the will of God in our lives. May we detest religion that suits our lifestyle, but live a lifestyle that is worthy of His Kingdom!
-Gabriel
P.S. In a relationship, it helps if you get to know their Mother.
4 comments:
Awesome!
Great minds think alike, too. I was going to include that relationships=religion based example, too!
Guess I'll have to hurry up and finish my response!
When you look at the old Protestant understanding that you have to have relationship OR religion, of course religion looks bad. But when you realize that Religion IS romance, then you realize how truly amazing the Church is!
Definitely. I remember reading or listening to Scott Hahn make a very similar point--when you're in love, you do things over and over again, like saying "I love you", because of your great love, not because of some rote ritual. The ritual develops out of the spontaneous repetition, and helps stabilise the fires of passion, because they'll cool down eventually. Love endures because even when we don't necessarily feel loving, we act loving--and the action makes us loving.
But if I keep commenting here, I'm not writing, there!
Finally finished:
What If I Told You That Jesus Came to Emancipate Religion?
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