Unforced Rhythms of Grace

“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.” 

- Jesus, (Matthew 11:28-30, MSG)

God So Loved The World; Not Just The Nice Christians

The message of Grace, set me free from the ugly yoke of legalism. Unless you (have been awakened to the fact that you) have been mauled by legalism, you wouldn't know the severity of how legalism cripples one's mind. 

But, that does not mean I am a blinded member of the "grace" camp. I run from camps (mindsets), for they have the notoriety of being tunnel-visioned and rigid. The underlying mantra of a rigid mindset, whether it's verbalized or not, is, "We have arrived! We know it all!" Discerning minds can smell that claustrophobic structure from a mile away. 

I was stunned to hear a statement made by a very prominent and an internationally known grace preacher (whose name I will not mention), recently. He said, "sometimes, wars are needed" - referring to the fight against ISIS. 

I can understand if those words were from the U.S. Secretary of State. But from a messenger of grace?! 

My first thought was, "so this so-called "grace" is only for those who are in the club? No, that's not authentic love!" 

His rhetoric is cute, if you want to appease the warmongers; but it does not rhyme with "turn the other cheek", or "Father forgive them, for they know not what they do".

A Letter, from Jesus

A Letter to Christians in Indiana, from Jesus, by John Pavlovitz

Racism Under the Guise of Religious Liberty

"Invidious discrimination is wrong. And it doesn’t matter why someone wants to discriminate."

- Ian Millhiser

Read more: When ‘Religious Liberty’ Was Used To Justify Racism Instead Of Homophobia

How Religious Clubs Are Formed

Christian denominations (around 40,000 and counting) and religious clubs that have formed over the years, came into existence, because people stopped walking in the middle of their journey with God.

They get an explosive revelation of a minuscule aspect of God, and declare: "This is it! We've got it all!". And after the the initial euphoria dies down, the newly-discovered revelation is cemented with a long-faced, "Those who differ with us, are heretics!"

This is what I call religion.

Religion is not a group of people, or an organization. It is a sincere, closed, dogmatic and an insecure mindset.

This is also how close-minded traditions are formed.

While it's fashionable to look down on traditions (while presuming "we" are on the cutting edge of God's revelation), we become Traditionalist 2.0, the moment we pitch the tent.

Humility and simple logic acknowledges the obvious - that, the elephant is indeed, much bigger than what our limited senses can comprehend.

The Box

Cartoon, by David Hayward

Fear

"So much of religion seems to be about fear:  

fear of going to hell; 
fear of having bad theology; 
fear of not satisfying your end of the bargain so God will favor you and bless you; 
fear of others finding out how much you're not really like the person you project and pretend to be; 
fear of trusting your own inner guidance and fear of thinking for yourself; 
fear of not upholding the expectations of your religious sub-culture; 
fear of sexuality; 
fear of people who are different; fear of the world; 
fear of messing up; 
fear of not being good enough... spiritual enough... godly enough.  

I don't know which is worse - the way religion makes us afraid to die, or the way it makes us afraid to live."  

- Jim Palmer, Notes from (Over) The Edge

Spirituality and Religion

“Spirituality is man’s relationship with the Divine. Religion is crowd control.”   

- Unknown

What if Jesus Meant All That Stuff?

Quote by Shane Claiborne, from this article.


"The more I have read the Bible and studied the life of Jesus, the more I have become convinced that Christianity spreads best not through force but through fascination." 

- Shane Claiborne

5 Churchy Phrases That Are Scaring Off Millennials

Quotes from the article, by Addie Zierman: 

"We don’t want to hustle to prove our faith; we don’t want to pretend. We want to be accepted, not analyzed." 

... 

"You’ve heard us say that we like Jesus but not the church, and it’s not because we’re trying to be difficult. It’s because the Jesus we read about enters into the pain of humanity where so often the church people seem to want to float above it."

Read more, here. 

Groupthink

Read this post - Monkey See, Monkey Do, by Steve McVey, on a study done on monkeys, on indoctrination.

In any system that is enslaved to groupthink, people who begin to question the unquestioned answers, will be viewed through the lens of suspicion, and labeled.

And since we hate the idea of being ostracized, often times, we resort to sticking our heads in the sand. 

It's a bit hard initially, but in the process of being true to ourselves, it is important that we stop expecting that everyone around us will nod in agreement with us. 

I thoroughly enjoy the company of people who are not afraid of questions (whether we agree with our answers we have at the moment, or not), than pretend-friendships that are based solely on social, political and/or doctrinal agreements.

Ambassadors of Darkness

Like it or not, we inadvertently become the ambassadors of darkness, when we push sincere seekers away. 

But on the bright side, fortunate are those who have met Christ, without the interference of organized Christianity.

Read this post, by Frank Viola, about John Lennon.

The Elephant and the Four Blind Men

Since God is invisible to our physical eyes, the conclusions we make about him can be speculative in nature. However, it does necessarily mean that it is blind though.

The experiential reality that the four blind men had while exploring an elephant were true to them. Yet, their individual experiences were not the complete picture. 

Religion, or rigid beliefs within a particular religious system, happens when a blind person's interpretation (regardless of how real it is) is elevated to the one and only truth. 

My bet is on the elephant, rather than the blind men's interpretations, regardless of how true they are to each one of them.

Not one of us, can claim that we know it all. Right now, we only know in part. Common sense, wisdom and humility can acknowledge that; but a mindset that is driven by fear and insecurity, abhors it.

Feelings

Religion is about what we must do. 

Grace is about what He has done. 

It is finished and we are complete in Him (Col 2:10), whether we feel it or not. 

While feelings are beautiful, they are not necessarily an accurate indicator of our identity. Right now it is 50 degrees Fahrenheit outside, and I am experiencing a comfortable 65 degrees inside. But my experience does not alter the fact that the actual temperature is 50 degrees right now.

Seeker Vs Religionist

The seeker says: "This is the path that I am on right now, in this journey."

The religionist* says: "What path? I'm right and you are all idiots for not seeing things the way I see."

*'Religionist' is a term that is often attributed to a close/rigid-minded person from a religion; but in my opinion, it is anyone who has a closed/rigid mind.

7 Things Christians Need to Remember About Politics

I think this is a great reminder for the American Christians this election season:

7 Things Christians Need to Remember About Politics, by Byron Roberts.

A Collective Confession of those who have moved beyond Evangelicalism

Click here to read the "collective confession of sorts reflecting the thoughts and feelings of those of us who have moved beyond evangelicalism", by Frank Viola

The Finger

"A religious belief… is not a statement about Reality, but a hint, a clue about something that is a mystery, beyond the grasp of human thought. 

In short, a religious belief is only a finger pointing to the moon. Some religious people never get beyond the study of the finger. Others are engaged in sucking it. Others yet use the finger to gouge their eyes out. These are the bigots whom religion has made blind. 

Rare indeed is the religionist who is sufficiently detached from the finger to see what it is indicating — these are those who, having gone beyond belief, are taken for blasphemers."

- Anthony de Mello

What The Gospel Is Not About

The Gospel is not about Sin Management, Behavior Modification, Law Enforcement and/or Fruit Inspection. Those are religion's job descriptions.

The Gospel is about the divine union with God. We are fused in him and one with him, whether we feel it, or not.

Roadblocks to Paradise

A very large group of people is standing in the middle of the road, barring the way into Paradise.

The puritan asks: "What are these sinners doing here?"

The moralist bawls: "The prostitute wants to join the feast!"

The guardian of social values yells: "How can the adulteress be forgiven when she has sinned?"

The penitent rends his clothes: "Why cure a blind man if all he cares about is his il

lness and when he doesn’t even say thank you?"

The ascetic protests: You let that woman pour expensive oil on your hair! Why didn't she sell it instead to buy food?"

Smiling, Jesus holds the door open. And the Warriors of the Light go in, despite the hysterical shouting.

- Paulo Coelho



Related post: The Cosmic Turtle