Family or Religion?

Religion or Family?

Most of us like to say “family” yet we get stuck in the ways and hindrances of religion. Heard a great message and wanted to share my notes on some of it. I highly recommend listening to the entire message (link below). It’s a great message for everyone—from the one running the church for years to the newbie in the back pew.

You can decide for yourself if you really want a family or if you are happy with the superficial religious organization that leaves us comfortable in our flesh, but spiritually drowning.

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Family in Christ and religion are quite different.

Religion lets you show up and leave and no one cares.

Religion lets you pretend you’re doing good when no one knows that you’re not.

Family means openness, honesty, accountability.

Family means walking together through good times and hard times and ugly times.

Part of being a family means learning to receive things you don’t deserve and learning to walk in things you have not earned.

There’s no going back, only forward. We have to jump in as family—family loves each other, forgives each other, and walks with each other through hard times and mistakes. We all have problems and mistakes. In religion, we learn how NOT to share those struggles. In religion, you can go to church and do great and no one will know anything about you. 

As Christians, we are not just setting a trend for prayer or hunger for God; we are setting an example of family. No one is higher than another in the kingdom of God. No calling is more important than another’s…just different. In family we don’t have to show off. We don’t have to be more important; we don’t have to be special because we’re all special. There’s a part of family that we all have to understand: you’re just as important as the preacher.

Learning how to live in family takes time and submitting to God’s Spirit. His grace allows us to grow as a family, where the ones who are struggling get swept up and caught with the ones who are strong. There are days you may do great and weeks you may struggle, but God’s love for you does not change.

It’s easier to sit under religion because then you don’t have to be mature. Becoming a family means maturity. It means dealing with yourself. It means a commitment to praying in the Holy Ghost. It means a commitment to meditating the Word, fasting and the tools we have to help us to overcome ourselves. It takes time and it takes love.

There’s so much we have to learn about family. God wants us to sit and get comfortable in His presence as a family. Being able to sit in His presence, to love our neighbor, to do no harm to our neighbor, to learn to receive from each other, and to appreciate each other is just as important as signs and wonders and miracles. If all we do is pursue miracles, we miss out on the good stuff—holiness, character, love. God doesn’t want us to self-destruct because of lack of character or holiness. He wants us to grow as a family.

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I got so much out of this message. More than I could even write down. You can listen to it here: http://www.daveroberson.org/Media/1172/GS111003B.mp3 (I recommend listening all the way to the end).