Mission FireFly » Devotionals » Religion or Reality

Is it religion or reality?

A devotional by FireFlighter

What is Christ to you?  Is he a figurehead, a historical person you'd like to model, a type of somebody which man concocted to describe the person we'd all like to be?

If Christianity is all about religion then, yes, it's meaningless.  Religion is all fluff, empty of soul and that which can truly fill the searcher.  If Christianity is just another faith tradition, then it's easy to practice it on Sundays but not let it grip your everyday life with an everlasting, lifechanging grip which leaves transforming marks.

But, if Christ is really the son of the living God who once walked upon the earth with the intent of showing man the Father as well as the way to the Father, then this life we see is not really all that is there.

In John 10:10, Christ states, "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly."

Every person I meet is searching for fulfillment, for happiness, for true joy and peace.  Yet, what burdens my soul is that people are falling so short when they embrace the religion of Christianity though not the relationship God's Son intends.  This religion becomes merely a crutch, and church attendance mere social obligation; all the while Christ stands there, holding out his hands, offering abundant life on earth and in the hereafter.

What is Christ to you?  Are you religious or is Christ your Savior?  Is He the highest reality you know?  Is what He did on earth what really happened?  Is His rescuing gift of eternal life & forgiveness something you really need?  Are you really a sinner who is doomed for destruction because of intentional choices you make each day?

I firmly believe that when a person takes the step beyond religion and accepts Christ as the ultimate reality, then the world looks differently.  Everything is seen from a different perspective.  The best friend who does not know Christ as their personal Savior is a friend who is lost and on the way to eternity away from God.  That best friend must be told the truth!  And the person who holds Christ as reality will not hold back the life giving message from that friend.

When Christ is real, then we must not be afraid to lovingly and prayerfully give our friends, family, and strangers the truth about their Creator and Father who yearns that they believe and enter into a fulfilling relationship with Him.