Backed By Unpopular Opinion: Religion Boxed Me In, Jesus Set Me Free.
- Catharina Foster
- Apr 24, 2018
- 6 min read
I'm tired of fake Christianity. I'm not sorry if that's blunt and to the point because that's how I roll. And if you're confused of what I mean by "fake Christianity" I'll be more clear. There is nothing you can do to earn the grace of God, it is freely give. There is nothing you can do that could make Him love you anymore or any less. There is nothing you can do to earn your way into heaven. And most importantly there is nothing you could ever do to be perfect. Being a Christian doesn't mean you think you're better than anyone else, that you have it figured out, or that life is perfect. It actually means the complete opposite. It means that we know we are flawed and cannot save ourselves, that's why we need Jesus. It means that we don't have it all figured out but we trust in God because He DOES have it all figured out. It means that we choose to walk in humility instead of pride, knowing that no matter how hard we try, we will never be perfect and that the only good thing in us is God. And it means we've chosen to accept Jesus as the Lord and Savior of our lives, that we have laid down our pride and picked up our cross. There is so much more to life than the center of self desires.
Religion is man made. Relationship with Jesus is genuine. (Jesus + anything = nothing)
DISCLAIMER: This is my personal experience and I'm not discrediting or judging the way anyone partakes in a relationship with Christ, as every individual's life with Christ looks different in one way or another.
I grew up in a traditional Lutheran church where we would sing hymns and recite the apostolic creed and The 10 Commandments. In middle school I went through Catechism class and was confirmed. I understood who God was but I didn't know him, I didn't have a relationship with Him. As I got older and went off to college, I experienced a non-denominational church via youth group and that's when I met Jesus. That's when my soul and life forever changed by taking a complete 180 turn, my eyes were opened and I experienced real love for the first time.
After the transformation of my heart I started to critically think about my relationship with Christ and understanding what being a Christian actually means -- this is something I still do quite frequently. The more I started to analyze this, the more I started to understand, and here's what I've concluded:
1. Religion put me in a box, Jesus set me free: I felt confined by rules and pressure to live up to be "perfect". I didn't feel connected to God when reciting any creeds or singing hymns. I felt like an outsider in a room of conformity when I was at a religious church. I have always been a rebel, a misfit, an outcast, and I've never been popular. I never felt like I belonged until I walked into the presence of Jesus and to this day, that is the only place that I have ever felt like I truly and eternally belong. Religion shackled me with chains to become someone that I'm not. Jesus broke my chains and set my spirit free to run wild with unconditional love, setting the world ablaze. Knowing Jesus doesn't mean I became less sinful, it means I became saved.
2. I found my identity in Jesus Christ: I think we've all gone through a struggle with identity crisis at some point in our adolescent lives or even adult lives sometimes. My biggest struggle was throughout junior high into high school. I just wanted people to like me so I would do whatever the "cool kids" were doing and I would be someone that I knew I wasn't just to please others around me because I honestly didn't know who I was and I was scared that people wouldn't like the real me unless I was doing what was popular. I would believe everything that everyone said about me UNTIL I met Jesus. That was the beginning of me figuring out who me actually is. I started learning about who Jesus said I was: daughter of the one true king, clothed in strength and dignity, more valuable than rubies, He knows the number of all the hairs on my head, He knew who I was going to be before I ever existed, and He loves me so much He sent His one and only son to take my place to bear my sin. I understood what real beauty was and I transformed myself into it. Slowly but surely I stopped listening to who the world said I was and I started listening to who Jesus says I am.
3. Jesus changes your perspective: Once you come to know Jesus, you start looking at life with an eternal perspective. Understanding that life on earth is only a small fraction of what your existence will consist of. Eternity is an interesting word, most people probably think of the word "forever" as a synonym. But whenever I think of eternity, I think of destination, heaven or hell. You start to understand that we are all on a path that leads 1 of 2 ways (heaven or hell). The only thing that truly matters in this life is knowing Jesus and loving people. What you look like will pass, what you own will be given away, but who you are (your soul) is what moves on to the next destination. Where is yours headed? 4. Relationship with Jesus is not cookie cutter: Because we are all unique individuals, our personal relationships with Jesus are going to be uniquely individual as well. We may share similarities in our relationships with Christ but there may be many differences as well because Christ meets us right where we are at in all of our mess at the depths of our hearts. One person may feel closest to Jesus in nature, another in prayer, another when serving in the community, another while painting, another while reading faith centered books. We are all different. Don't compare your relationship with Christ to someone else's. Religion produces conformity, relationship with Christ produces individuality. God made you to be unique, embrace it. This is how I maintain my relationship with Christ: I pray and talk to God A LOT, I love people really hard even when I don't want to, I suck at reading my Bible (or anything for that matter) but I try to do that sometimes, I listen to Jesus music (Jesus rap and KLOVE), and I critically think about Jesus and understanding who He is. Even the simple act of thinking about Jesus is worshiping Him.
5. Jesus loves all kinds of people: The boy that's bullied and sits alone in the cafeteria, Jesus loves him. The girl crying in the bathroom of a bar over a boy, Jesus loves her. The man who joined a gang just to belong somewhere, Jesus loves him. The boy who just told his parents he's gay, Jesus loves him. Jesus loves the people that the world just loves to hate. Jesus's love goes to the places that some "Christians" would never imagine going. Jesus sits with the broken, He sits with the weak, the unwanted. Jesus loves all kinds of people, especially sinners -- the liars, the murderers, the adulterers, He loves them all. He loves you, He loves me. His love doesn't discriminate against skin color, sexual orientation, gender, social status, intelligence level, or religious orientation. His love is for ALL people of ALL kinds FOR the entire world. If His love is for everyone, then our love should be as well. If Jesus loves all kinds of people, then we should too. Because, being a Christian means being Christ-like and if you look at what Jesus did the most, He loved people. God is love.
Like a yellow rose with thorns, that's what I imagine myself to be in Jesus's love. Full of indescribable beauty, unique in every way, blossoming, growing freely, wild with rough edges (and no I'm not talking about my hair LOL), thorns that sometimes cause pain and suffering to others. I'm not perfect and I don't try to be, I sin, I actually sin a lot and sometimes I intentionally sin (that's my bad rebellious side). I've always been a rebel, that goes against the grain of society, but now, I'm a rebel with a purpose. My purpose is to love others like Jesus loves me and to show them what being a true Christian means. I honestly can't stand the word "religion" and I am not a "religious" person. I am unrefined, I am the diamond in the rough. I am backed by UNPOPULAR opinion and I wouldn't want it any other way. I don't march to anyone else's beat except my own. If you don't like me, I don't care because Jesus loves me and that's the ONLY approval I will ever need in my existence. He is the best choice I ever made and I can't imagine what my life would look like without Him. I'm really messed up and He saved me. He saves me daily. I'm not better than anyone else. My life didn't get easier because I know Jesus, but it did get a lot more peaceful and meaningful. The only thing I want for everyone else is to know the same peace and love that has been given to me through Christ Jesus. This is my forever mission -- to tell the world about the only name that saves, the name of Jesus.
CHECKOUT my video on How I Met Jesus:
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