Religion is God.

Religiously.  A word so casually and overly spoken in our society, used in a wide spectrum of contexts from, “He plays his Xbox religiously” to “she uses her phone religiously”. Breaking down the meaning of the secular slang statement the word religiously reveals a common definition—extreme, always, large quantity, much.  It’s a word used to describe an action done a lot and for a long period of time.  When using that word and definition in relation to the original Webster dictionary definition (set of beliefs), it fails to correlate. The majority of the church today cannot be viewed with the definition of religious the secular world uses.  We lack a radical and always commitment to a thing that the boy playing Xbox even has.  He is committed to his video game, never stopping, never resting but continuing in the times of frustration and doubt.  My analogy may be lame, but 14 year-old (and even 40 year olds) can understand the idea of being addicted.   The church has begun to turn God into a Sunday morning commitment rather than an everyday, all day lifestyle controlled by the One most high.  We fall back into the idea that God has created this world to satisfy the things we want instead of realizing we were made to glorify Him; all of him 24/7, forever and ever—religiously.  We have lost the true definition of religion.  It is not an aspect of our life, or personality trait, but rather the central essence of our being.  It is everything we are and live for.  Religion is God.  He is ours to make known to those who do not yet have a relationship with Him. 

The word has been altered and I seek to understand the original meaning and lifestyle it is meant to define. Colossians 1:17-18 states “And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. ¹⁸ And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence.” God is the beginning; He is the brain of the operation, the controller of all things. At first glance it sounded self-explanatory; God is above all. Since He created the world it is only fair he becomes the ruler. But to decipher what this statement looks like is complex.  God is above all and rules all…what does that mean for His people? If we are His grasshoppers, what are our duties to satisfy his reason for His creation?  God owns all and one day every knee will bow to His power and truth, but life is meant to willingly give away our failed humanity in order to receive the Spirit of truth and fulfill glorifying Him in every part of our life. 

I know I sound repetitive, but I offer no apologies because this truth is the answer to living the minutes on this earth, yet it’s a topic vastly disappearing in the present days of our Church.  We are called to be a body controlled by the Almighty.  Called to love Him religiously.  Glorify Him religiously.  Follow Him religiously.