It’s A Relationship

I just got news that a famous guy in the homeschooling circles has separated from his wife and walked away from the Christian faith. The news was shocking. How do you walk away from the Christian faith? Why do you walk away from the Christian faith?

His name is Josh Harris and he wrote a best selling book, “I Kissed Dating Goodbye.” In it, he tells Christian families to teach your kids to court rather than unserious dating. Last year, Josh Harris renounced his book and said it was essentially bunk. The hard part for me was Josh Harris walking away from the Christian faith.

I found an excellent letter to Josh Harris. https://www.christianpost.com/voice/a-letter-to-josh-harris.html

In the letter, Mike Farris tells Josh that he walked away from Christian culture. He said that the Christian life isn’t a set of formulas. Instead, it’s a relationship with a living God.

And that got me thinking. That is the beauty of the Christian life. It is not a set of rules to follow. It is not rituals, and dos or don’ts. It is a relationship with a living God. A relationship! When you become a Christian, you join the family of God. You are adopted in. And now you have a Father who loves you and cares for you. You can talk to Him. You can cry to Him. Like a Father, He will hear you. He will care for you and provide for you.

I’m not a good rule follower. In fact, my husband can vouch for it. Probably, because I’m too lazy. If I had to follow the law or a set of rules for my salvation, I probably wouldn’t be saved. I just can’t do it. But God tells us to come to Him. We don’t need to follow a set of rules. We don’t need to follow the Judiac law. We don’t need to do anything, before we come to Him. We come just as we are: sinners, unwashed sinners. And God tells us the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all unrighteousness. He makes us clean.

I love that! I love the gospel. While I was yet a sinner, Christ died for me. I don’t have to follow a checklist of dos and don’ts.

I cringe inside when I hear people say what rules they follow. “I don’t celebrate Christmas.” “I don’t celebrate Halloween.” “I’m a woman, so I only wear dresses.” “I keep the sabbath.” Notice how many “I’s” are in each of those sentences. There’s nothing about God in any of them. Being a Christian isn’t a set of rules. It never has been. It is a relationship with a living God. And that is the beauty of Christianity-we have a relationship with God. It’s not about religion or rules. That’s such a beautiful thing.