By David ReayMonday 29 Aug 2022LifeWords DevotionalsDevotionsReading Time: 2 minutes
Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has become a child of God. And everyone who loves the Father loves his children, too. (NLT)
It seems our nation is less religious than it was before. That may not mean much unless we have a clear idea of what “religious” means to people. Many Christian denominations are losing adherents, but is the loss due to disenchantment with faith itself or due to the fact that fewer people are labelling themselves?
Christians are those who believe Jesus is God in human form and seek to live his way in the power of his Spirit. Going to a church doesn’t make us Christian any more than going to a stable makes us a horse. Jesus is not that concerned about how we label ourselves. He is concerned with what we think of him and what we are doing about it.
Being an Anglican or a Roman Catholic or a Pentecostal does not make us children of God. Thinking religion is a good thing doesn’t grant us that status either. Many of us who follow Jesus don’t want to be called “religious”.
A decline in those seeing themselves as religious is not necessarily catastrophic for Jesus’ church and cause. A failure to see Jesus for who he is and to live new lives on that basis is a cause for concern. A failure to see a rising generation seriously consider the true faith and to embrace it, that too is serious.
Being religious is no substitute for knowing and loving Jesus. Being religious is no substitute for being a Christian.
Blessings,
David