God doesn’t want religious people. He wants a people in relationship with Him and each other. We read in Genesis, after creating man, after seeing that everything was good, that God deemed the first thing that was not good was that man was alone. (Gen 2:18 The LORD God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.”) God formed all of the animals out of the ground and brought them before man, to see what he would call them, and while Man named all the animals, there was no suitable helper found. God then made woman, but not from the ground. Instead He fashioned her from a rib – for each to be a part of each other. And man then had a help meet, a partner, someone with whom to have relationship. We also read that mankind walked with God in Eden, in relationship. God created us to be in relationship with Him and others. This came to an end when man broke the relationship. Later God goes to a man in Ur: Abram, and tells him to leave, to go to a land he will be shown, and Abram, later to become Abraham, does so. Abraham has relationship with God, and becomes the founding patriarch of the Jewish nation. God has relationship with Moses, and Moses with Him. And as the people of Israel wander the desert, God gives Moses the Law, a religion. On the surface, it looks like a bunch of rules, but at its core is the heart of a loving relationship between creator and the created.
Unfortunately, man tends to move in the circle of the letter of the law rather than the intent and instead of following the relationship of the law, the people of Israel were intent on adhering to the letter, and measuring their worth on how well they kept the law, regardless of any relationship. Adherence to the law is not relationship any more that giving someone a gift is relationship.
Religion is a pursuit or interest to which someone ascribes supreme importance. It is following a set of rules based on belief. Religion implies compliance without investment. On the other hand, relationship is investment from which the compliance flows as an outpouring of the relationship.
The history of Israel is pretty much one long succession of attempts to follow the regulations of the religion without seeking the relationship with the law giver.
God eventually took a bigger step in the relationship. He loved so much that He gave His son to rebuild the relationship, to make the way back to Him, not by rules, but by love.
And Jesus was not religious – he “broke” a ton of Sabbath laws, mostly healing, but also allowing the disciples to harvest, okay, pick grain heads to eat, on the Sabbath, and He didn’t order his disciples to do ceremonial hand washing. Jesus didn’t follow the rules – inexcusable to the leaders of His day. Instead, He built relationship.
Jesus was asked once, by an expert of the law, what is the greatest commandment, what must he do to inherit eternal life. Jesus turns the question back and says – you’re an expert, what is it?
27 He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” Luke 22:27
The answer is relationship.
Matthew records it as Jesus saying it, and adding that all the Law and the prophets hang on this foundation.
Like us, the expert knew the answer, but he wanted to justify himself, for he knew while he was an expert, and he most likely held to the letter of the Law, that he had trouble keeping to the intent. “Exactly who is my neighbour?”, he counters.
Jesus tells a story with a surprise ending. At the end of the Good Samaritan, Jesus doesn’t say to go find someone who needs help – they are your neighbour. He asks, who was neighbour to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?” It’s almost the same thing, but not quite. It talks about relationship. We could find it easy to help someone in need. But it is sometimes harder to accept help when we’re in need. If I ask how are you doing, do you need anything, your likely response will be “I’m good, got it under control”. The parable of the Good Samaritan runs both ways because a relationship is built, someone has a need, and someone loving fills the need. But, one more point here. Let’s look at this from the point of view of the question – who is my neighbour? Your neighbour is the one you build relationship with, it works both ways – when you have needs and you fill needs. When you act in love toward others.
The law laid out what the behaviours of a relationship could look like, but it was, according to Paul, unable to justify us. Many times he writes in Romans and Galatians that a “person is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ.” That no one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin. (Rom 3:20) and from Ephesians 2- 8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. Eph 2:8-9 NIV. It is not by following the law, buy the works of adherence to rules, but by coming into relationship with Him, that we are saved. And even that is not from ourselves, it is acceptance of God’s gift, of accepting relationship with Him.
With this relationship of loving God and man, we see a number of things fall into place. God looks at the motive of our actions. Jesus mentions how 40 Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. 41 Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left. Matt 24:40-41. Two people doing exactly the same things, but only one in each scenario is in relationship.
It is not our religious affiliation, but rather our relationship with others that is of import. Actions flowing not from adherence to a law, but rather, flowing from a right relationship with God that turns into action that meets the intent of the law. Or, more simply stated, the “right thing” is automatic because of our relationship.
In this time, we still see the balance of rules and relationship. The issue remains, it is relationship that should drive us, not adherence to rules and law. For in relationship, the actions intended by the law are fulfilled.
Covid-19 is the first time any of us have been through this sort of crisis. Social distancing, small groups, business closed, working from home. It’s a stressful time. And I see over and over, people justifying breaking the rules set by the government, asking if maybe their situation warrants an exception. That is law. A right relationship, on the other hand automatically incorporates the intent of the law, to slow the spread, to not infect others. It’s why the announcements time and again talk about “think of your neighbour, think of you grandparents or those with low immune systems”. They are appealing to your relationships.
The cross restores us to the relationship in the garden – the veil which kept us from God is torn in two – we can enter in, and be indwelt now by Holy Spirit, who will never leave – an eternal relationship.
And remember, Jesus ends His physical time on earth, as recorded in Matthew, with a promise of relationship – I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Matt 28:20b NKJV.
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