By Bria Banks
When some are asked about having a relationship with God, we say, “I’ll get to it later,” or the infamous “I go to church on Sundays, that’s enough.”
Our everyday routine was built on a system of work, sleep, tv, commuting, then repeat with a small sprinkle of religious devotion dedicated to Sundays.
According to former journalist and The Refiner’s Fire webmaster, Carmen Welker, in a total of 168 hours a week, about 99 percent of those hours, most people sleeping, watching tv, working, or doing other activities, with one percent or less dedicated to spending time with God.
Many devotions dedicated to spending time with God are spent in a church or religious facility for approximately one hour on one or two days per week. This is typically during Bible studies and Sunday or Saturday services. According to Statista, only 40 percent of Americans have identified as religious in the year 2019.
Previously, the divided understanding of religion and relationship has never been pedestaled for observation until the break of the Covid-19 pandemic, which has caused many believers to question how much they truly know God. Some religious gatherings have broken state laws to refrain from congregating. Some constitute this as due to their lack of relationship and need for religion.
Christian media personnel and author Joyce Meyer says, “When we have a real relationship with God through Christ, life gets exciting because He stirs up a passion inside us to love people. And we don’t have to struggle to do the things He calls us to do – it just happens naturally.”
When we are stuck in religion, we often miss the heart of God and how He talks to us. We don’t talk to Him at all in religion because it’s more of doing rather than listen or communicating. Now, for clarity, I don’t mean that going to church is wrong or that identifying with Christianity as a religion is wrong. Religion involves a practice that is disconnected from the heart, and for Christians, disconnected from Christ in relationship with Him.
“We cannot “Love [Yahweh] your God with all our heart, all our being and all our resources,” Welker says. “If we are not taking the time to think about Him, His Word, and His desires.”
The religion is the system of remembering what God commanded and has spoken, but a relationship is deeply connecting to who He is.
The idea of relationship with God versus religion is so interesting to consider especially when we take into account the physical action of communion, taking the bread of His body and the wine of His blood. This act needs to truly become the foundation of our lives as Believers as we seek to know Him not just on Sundays but every moment of our lives as we live our lives and devote ourselves completely to God. I will assess and strive to cultivate a closer relationship with God. Thank you for this eye opener.