The Formula

Before reading what God has been putting on my heart, I want to challenge you to take a moment to write down your definition of a word. Your answer doesn't have to be anything profound, but try not to use a dictionary. I would also encourage you to write it down, simply because it may give added relevance to the rest of this post. Ready? Here's the question:

What is your definition of "religion?"

If you're like me, you are a bit overwhelmed when asked this. Perhaps you are sitting there thinking,

Isn't this something that theologians, philosophers, and historians have debated for centuries? What kind of question is that for someone like me?

Part of me has always figured that not knowing what "religion" really means is okay. After all, growing up surrounded by Christians, I have constantly been reminded that "Christianity isn't about religion, it's about relationship!" However lately I have wondered whether or not this is another Christian cop-out. Nearly everyone in today's culture looks at "religious people" negatively, and in my opinion it's because, too often, we as Christians aren't illustrating it's true meaning.

If we won't provide an clear depiction of what "religion" is, then someone else will.

I once heard - and fully believe - that when Judgement Day comes we are going to see that the Enemy's favorite way of ensnaring his victims was not by dragging them into some giant sin, but by lulling them into a life of (comfortable) apathy. Satan wants Christians and non-Christians alike to believe that religion is not only meaningless and fake, but corrupt. If we don't know what religion is supposed to look like and don't care, he wins.

Alright, so how do we fight against this lie that Satan is trying to spread? Should we go get a degree in theology so that we can discover and live the true formula for religion?

Only if you want to. Or you can simply pick up your Bible and find it.

Oh, I get it. You're going to give me the whole spiel about the Bible being God's Word and having everything I need for life and godliness. Got that one last Sunday, Soph.

Though I believe that the Word is God's primary way of communicating what authentic religion looks like, He makes it even simpler than that. James 1:27 says

"Religion that God our Father
accepts as pure and faultless is this:
to look after orphans and widows
in their distress and to keep oneself
from being polluted by the world."

There it is. The formula is right in front of our noses, clear as clear can be. So what the heck is all the confusion and arguing about? Everyone seems to have a different idea of what religion looks like, yet it's spelled out for us right there. When I Googled the phrase "What is Religion," 65,900,000 results appeared. Most definitions seem to focus on religion being "the strong belief in a supernatural power or powers that control human destiny (wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn)." I find it interesting that James 1:27 says nothing about belief or faith. Not that those are bad things, but I do think that there is a reason for this.

For the past week and a half, God has constantly cause me to return to this idea. Religion is not synonymous with faith, it's the evidence of it, He says to me. You're sick of people bashing "religious" people? Be a disciple who lives MY definition of true religion, not your culture's.

In Isaiah 58 God again outlines the kind of lifestyle He is looking for in His people.

"Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:
to loose the chains of injustice
and untie the cords of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free
and break every yoke?
Is it not to share your food with the hungry
and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter -
and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?

"Then your light will break forth like the dawn,
and your healing will quickly appear;
then your righteousness will go before you,
and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard.
Then you will call, and the Lord will answer;
you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.

"If you do away with the yoke of oppression,
with the pointing finger and malicious talk,
and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry
and satisfy the needs of the oppressed,
then your light will rise in the darkness,
and your night will become like the noonday."

If you need to re-read that, please do so. I have, over and over in the past week and a half, and something is awakening inside me. What am I wasting my life on? I look at the words in bold and think to myself, "Isn't that exactly what I long to see happen in my life?" Then I look at the words in italics and realize God has it all road-mapped out for me.

It's easy to read, but not so easy to live. I've been asking God to give me a better understanding of what that kind of lifestyle would actually look like in my everyday life. I wish I could tell you that I have it figured out, but I don't. I'm getting bits and pieces, but there's a lot I'm still wondering about.

One thing I know is this: The way of life that He is calling us to is not meant to be a temporary "project" we take part in, but our lasting purpose.

When I stand before the throne of God, I want to be able to say that during my time on earth I stood against injustice, that I tangibly loved those who were in need, that I spent myself on behalf of the hungry. Will I have lived God's definition of true religion, or will I have been too caught up in conforming to what my culture defined it as?

"If you read history you will find that the Christians who did most for the present world were precisely those who thought most of the next. It is since Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world that they have become so ineffective in this." ~ C.S. Lewis