It is safe to say that for most of my life I’ve been exposed to many church settings. Within these church settings I’ve seen funny things, beautiful things, shocking things. I’ve heard pleasant things, sad things, happy things, and things that left me feeling indifferent. Amongst the people in the congregations, I’ve met loving people, angry people, joyful people, religious people and faithful people. Interestingly, it is not the angry people or the sad people that surprise me or the “fake” people even. It is, ironically, the religious people that surprise me. Yes, even within the church.

It shocks me every time because I believe that Christianity was never supposed to be about following a list of rules but rather following Jesus. I don’t think that it is about trying to perfect your religious routine. I believe that it is about having a personal relationship with Christ, and then the actions will follow. I do not think that religious actions are what save you. I believe that those actions are a response to the things that God has done, like saving your soul. With Jesus isn’t it supposed to be that he loved you and died for so you want to follow him on the path that he has set for your life?

I think that many times as Christians we feel that it is our religion that saves us and not Jesus. Often times there is too much focus on crossing our t’s and dotting our i’s. Jesus spent a great deal of his ministry trying to set the record straight in regards to the religious structure. I believe that by turning back and doing what the Sadducees and the Pharisees did, with a modern twist of course, we are in fact fighting against the Jesus we claim to be living for. When being a Christian is only a hobby, only something that you participate in on the weekends and not a lifestyle, it's much easier to be religious. It’s simple to only praise God or pray to Him during Sundays and then return to you life for the rest of the week.

Now don’t get me wrong: it is absolutely important to strive towards obeying God’s word. The religious aspect of the Christian faith was formed with good intentions, but it can cause some to replace the grace of God with their own actions. Although this may not seem like a huge issue, it is because it almost seems to be a disservice to others as it gives a false representation of the faith. If someone feels that he or she cannot meet “the requirement” to be saved, they may become discouraged even though God already fixed the issue. What makes you a Christian is not how well you pray, the way you worship, or the fact that you attend church every Sunday. It is because you have chosen to have a relationship with Christ first and bear your cross as he once did.