Is Christianity A Religion?

No amount of good deeds done as a religious act can replace the joy and love that abounds from a true relationship with Jesus Christ. Religiosity gives birth to fanaticism but a relationship with God gives birth to all the good there is, it is a constant living water spring.
Enlarge ImageReligion is present all over the world and some take it seriously yet for many it is simply nonsense. Looking at them all, Christianity has the core of life within, namely the resurrection of its founder, Jesus Christ. I have recently seen some pictures from Israel showing the grave of Jesus Christ where the words "He is not here, He is risen" reminded me of the times when the first followers of Jesus heard these words. It must have been amazing!

I personally chose Christianity not as a religion (although I am a Christian) but as a relationship. Many times being a Christian is a religion and those who see it as such miss the whole point. Christianity is a relationship, not a set of rules as "do this and don’t do the other."

The moment you get to really know the founder of it, Jesus Christ, you can really see that you want to have Him as your best friend, your Redeemer and Lord. What I am most grateful for is that He was so patient with me as to prove to me that He really exists now, that He is indeed very much alive, that His Holy Spirit is truly working, speaking, teaching and leading Christians.

If you can’t believe Jesus Christ is the Son of God indeed, just be honest and ask Him to prove that to you, to show you for real. He will! If you are honest in your search for the truth, don’t stop and ask for all the evidence you need, He’s got them all and He is also willing to give those to you.

Just like in our movies with aliens, where they come and tell humans about their planets, Jesus Christ came to testify what God had already said, all He did was to point at God, His Father. All the miracles He performed, all the goodness He showed towards people came from God, His Father. Jesus Christ did not seek His own fame; He pointed to His Father, the Maker of the Universe and repeatedly said that He can do nothing without the Father.

John, a disciple who understood Jesus’ love for mankind describes his experience of seeing Life Itself, namely Jesus Christ:

"That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. We write this to make our joy complete.

This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with Him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, His Son, purifies us from all sin.

If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make Him out to be a liar and His word has no place in our lives."1 John 1

Jesus Christ came to show us what love means, to show us that we do have a problem…sin and therefore death (we know that, we have enough cemeteries all over the world…), He came to give us all the resources we need to live a life of victory, not just a religion. A true relationship in which you talk to God, receive His will for your life, get to know Him every day trough the Bible which is His word. The Bible is like a "how to" book for people; it is the Manufacturer’s manual for our lives, shows us what kind of "gas" to put in and what are the "speed limits" we function best. Just like a car, going outside those lines …will teach us the "law of gravitation" the hard way.

If you have a religion, you do the right things, you do good deeds and go to church on Sunday and give a coin to the poor (or your whole fortune for that matter) and all that, but your life doesn’t have joy, peace and love, make a step forward and ask Jesus what’s wrong, ask Him to talk to you, to lead you, to give you what you need in order to have a relationship and not just a religion. May you feel, know and live by His Love, Grace and Blessings for the rest of your days!
By Claudia Miclaus
Published: 9/24/2008