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Religion versus Jesus' Life

5/13/2012

2 Comments

 
This is the first of several blogs that start with quotes from John Eldredge's book, "Beautiful Outlaw."

After exposing the Jesus that many of us have never been aware of, John says this:

"You have a personal guide now; ask Jesus what to take up and what to set down, so that you might receive his life.

"By the way, this is the bottom-line test of anything claiming to be of Jesus: Does it bring life?  If it doesn't, drop it like a rattlesnake.  And you will find that the religious never, ever brings life.  Ever.  That is its greatest exposure."[1]

The distinguishing characteristic of real Christianity is life – Jesus’ life.  It is His life in us being lived out.  This is what Jesus meant when He said, “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”[2] 

We must ask ourselves what things we believe, think, or do that does or does not bring life to the full.  Of course we may need to come to a realization of what life to the full looks like.  And sometimes it may take a while traveling down the wrong road to come to a realization of the fact that what we thought was life to the full is just another dead end road to a life of dissolution.  But when we come to that realization, we must be willing to “drop it like a rattlesnake” as Eldridge admonishes.  We cannot afford to cling to religious notions because of tradition or reputation lest we perpetuate another generation of hollow, religious Christianity.


[1] Eldridge, John. Beautiful Outlaw. Faith Words. New York, Boston, Nashville. 2011. p. 209.

[2] John 10:10b

2 Comments
Alex
4/18/2021 08:10:33 am

What are some typical religious notions men cling to?

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Webmaster link
4/19/2021 05:52:47 am

Thanks for your question. I'll give you a personal example. I grew up in a home where we had "family devotions" every day. This consisted of reading some scripture verse and then each child and adult would pray - usually the same basic prayer every time. In my late teens I sang the praises of this religious ritual and exhorted others to practice it. When I established my own home, I found this to be a lifeless exercise. I felt guilty for not continuing the "heritage" that had been passed on to me. Later in life the Lord showed me that it was little more than a religious notion that did not have the life of Jesus in it. Instead, in my family we simply stop and pray whenever an opportunity presents itself. For example, we'd be driving down the road and hear an ambulance go by. At that moment we'd all pray for whoever was in the medical emergency that required an ambulance. We found much more Jesus life in doing this vs. a rote "family altar". Essentially, any time we feel the need or prompting of the Holy Spirit, we simply stop and converse with Jesus about the issue, trying to discern what he would have us do, and pray for his leading and for the person or issue at hand.

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    Clayton Gibbs

    I'm just a person who seeks God and wants to make Him known.

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