Someone said: It’s one thing to get the person out of the institution, it’s another thing to get the institution out of the person. It is difficult to get religious thinking out of our inner system.
But I want to work at this with the same fervency as Jesus who said: Don’t be like those religious people who are focused on externals thus missing the real, internal encounter with the living God. Don’t do it!
So, here are some of the tendencies that I still find lurking in my heart that pull me back into religious, institutional ways:
- Give me a structure and a plan to follow, not just a Person to cling to.
- Give me a comfortable program to do, preferably with other believers, not a mission and purpose that propels me out into the brokenness of the world.
- In fact, give me safety and routines over an adventure most days of the week.
- How about just a few rules to follow, or unique doctrines to believe, that allow me to feel assured that I am part of the ‘right’ group and that I am ‘in’ with God.
- And maybe a spiritual leader to please would be good. God’s approval is, well, hard to feel sometimes, but a little bit of man’s approval can go a long way.
- And can’t I just ‘go’ to church (even a house church) as my primary form of worship? That’s so much easier than acknowledging that I ‘am’ the church and where I go, the life and presence of Jesus goes. Do I really want to walk in that reality, as powerful as it is, on a daily basis?
There are many boxes that I find myself drawn back toward and they all pull me away from the dynamic and enthralling life that Jesus calls me to live with Him. May I find greater freedom!
