Day 22--Law and Order

 'Do not imagine that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets. I have come not to abolish but to complete them.'

MATTHEW 5:17

Aaahhh, yes, this is a good one *inhales, pops neck, pops fingers*.

Remember a few years ago that Youtube video that went viral: "Why I hate religion, but love Jesus"???  I guess I should remind you: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1IAhDGYlpqY

Yikes, man.... yikes! That awkward moment when you say "Jesus hated religion" and Jesus says "actually.... no." Then you read in this passage that Jesus didn't come to abolish the law, the rules, or the teachings of the prophets, but to fulfill them!!!! The Lord didn't hate religion--He was a practicing Jew. What He disliked was hypocrisy, or the practicing of religion for its own sake. See, we humans tend to take things for granted. As we grow into a routine, into ritual practices, we forget why we do what we do. And Jesus doesn't want us to meaninglessly mimic a set of rules. Our relationship with God shouldn't be a daily checklist: I read the bible, I went to church, I prayed--DONE for today and now I get to do what I want. Our relationship with God needs to be a love affair!!!!!

But that doesn't mean you get to do whatever you want or that Jesus hated religion. In love, Jesus fulfilled the will of the Father, and He asks us to "be perfect, just like your heavenly Father is perfect!" (Matthew 5:48). He wants us to strive for perfection, and He knows that we need these rules, the law, to guide us. Our law is his teaching. Throughout the gospels (and the whole Bible), God specifically asks us to do certain things (although the first thing we need to do is to love Him with all of our hearts, minds, and souls. It's a lot easier to try to follow all the other rules if we first follow this commandment!). And Jesus was also very clear about the CHURCH: "You are Peter and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it" (Matthew 16:18). Jesus' Church is his mystical body, set out to do Jesus' mission on earth, to establish the Kingdom of Heaven! Does that sound like Jesus hated religion?

Besides.... loving Jesus makes you his follower. And a follower of Christ is...errr.... a Christian. So...yup. And we wouldn't know about Jesus, his life, his death and resurrection without religion... so... yup.

In other words: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ru_tC4fv6FE

Wow, this was very long... COOL!

What I'm trying to get at is this: yes, the Church is plagued with sinners. But the Doctor doesn't come to those who are healthy, but those who are ill! And yes, hypocrisy is abundant... but the Holy Spirit still works through the brokenness. Doesn't calling others hypocrites makes us hypocritical? What if instead of staying away from a hypocrite-plagued church, you came and, by loving and serving God with all your hearts, you helped changed all those hypocritical hearts? Have you ever thought of that?  

The Church is the Bride of Christ. And She has her arms open for you! It is through the Church that Christ reached out to me, healed me, and gave me the peace and joy I had never experience before! Come home!