Christians Need Religion

What is something you do -- always? I know a man who walks a couple miles, goes home, eats two cookies, and bikes several miles after that. It's his routine and, barring serious illness or terrible weather, he follows it. He is religious about his health. 

I see it all the time. I've done it. You're halfway through the parking lot and you remember your mask. Back to the car to get it. We're how many months into this thing, and we still forget to wear our mask? How is it not a regular part of our routine by now? 

I need medication daily. Without it, I'm pushing up daisies. It is recommended I take it each morning, the problem is, my "morning" changes. Sometimes morning is 5 or 6 AM; sometimes morning is 9:30 at night. It doesn't change the fact I need to take this medication. It does, however, alter the likelihood I will take it. I wake up; I've barely slept 'cause my bedtime has changed -- again; I wander bleary-eyed to the bathroom -- "Just get me through this day" -- and I never give my meds a thought. Or, I'm late; I've tried to get every minute of sleep I possibly could; brush teeth, get dressed, get coffee, I'm out the door -- "Oh, man, my meds! Nothing I can do about it now." And on I go. I need this stuff to live! What am I doing?! 

I am a Christian. Christianity is faith; Christianity is a walk of life; Christianity is not a religion. But, Christianity needs religion. When I was a little girl, we went to church every Sunday. One of the biggest fights my parents had in front of us kids was when we were on vacation. Mom wanted to see the sights, but it was Sunday morning, and Dad had already inquired at the hotel's front desk about nearby churches. We were going to church. That is religion. Church and the knowledge of God became such a part of my identity, when I grew older and I stopped going to church, I actually experienced the emptiness of holidays like Easter and Christmas without that part of me. I distinctly remember driving through a neighborhood on a beautiful sunny day just before Easter. Lawns were decorated with brightly colored eggs and enormous white bunnies. I thought to myself, "Is this what non-Christians do? Is this really what they celebrate?" In reality, I wasn't even observing that, but I wanted something real to celebrate. The next Sunday I had my small son in church. And though it was another ten or so years before I authentically, relentlessly began seeking after the Lord, religion kept me within the safety and ministry of God's Word. I was learning, and God's Holy Spirit was speaking to my heart.

Today I need religion because I am human. My neighbor's exercise regimen is to be commended, but even bad weather or ill health can waylay him from it. Distractions or a shift in priorities can keep us from doing the things we need to do. Fatigue and stress can mess with our minds -- emotionally and physiologically -- so that routines which are so important, habits we need in order to live, can be completely forgotten. How does that happen? We're human. That's why the Bible tells us not to give up regular meeting with other believers. That's why Jesus commands us to remember Him regularly through the Lord's Supper. That's why we are to be baptized as outward evidence of a heart turned toward God. Religious acts, signs that not only serve to demonstrate we identify with Jesus, but they serve as reminders and commitments to each of us. Events we schedule or recall cause us to turn our thoughts to the Lord -- the One we truly need for life. As humans, we need regular celebrations and prompts to draw our hearts and minds to their true purpose. In fact, I am more likely to do my Bible reading without fail than I am to take my medication. And that's not because I am some religious nut or some "Super Christian" (they don't exist), it is because of the work of the Holy Spirit in me; it is because He changes and convicts me, is always close beside me, directing me in the path I should walk. And my daily dose of church (Bible reading, prayer, worship) is where I go to be reminded whose I am.

Religion drew me in and kept me close until the day I laid my life at the foot of the cross. Now, that may or may not be your testimony; God works in each of us differently. But, religion is also what keeps me close today. Not empty religion, mind you; not me doing things to earn favor with God or work my way to heaven, but routine commemoration. The candle I light to celebrate times the Lord has revealed Himself to me, or the verse I recite to remember the places He has brought me out of, or the weekly group I attend to uncover more truth about the One I serve -- actions that may appear to others as though I am going through some pious routine to gain favor with a supreme being, but are, in truth, set in motion and sustained by the One who has brought my heart from empty to full, from mere routine to righteousness.