NOT REALLY LIVING

Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. Matthew 11:28–30 (MSG)

If you’re exhausted from trying hard to earn something from God, you need to know that there’s a better way. Jesus says that you can getaway with Him and you’ll recover your life.

You see, relying on religion as a way to please God will burn you out. Religion uses fear and guilt to motivate behaviour. It’s a reliance on systems, structures and impossible-to-follow rules to adhere to in order to please God. It also teaches that God will nail you if you don’t follow those rules.

If you’ve been relying on religion, you need to recover your life because religious living is not really living.

Jesus said in John 10:10 that He came so you could have life and have it more abundantly. But religion strips away that life. It makes you judgmental and unhappy. It causes you to fear judgment and makes you feel as if you will never measure up. When things are going badly, you’ll think you haven’t done enough or you’ve done something wrong. You’ll think you need to pray more, read your Bible more, fast more, intercede more, pull down the strongholds more. It’s an exhausting way to live because it’s all about you.

Meanwhile, Jesus is saying, “Come to me! Let’s get rid of this religious mentality. I’m going to show you how to really live!”

Remember: you can’t make yourself right with God. Jesus already did. Instead of fixating on your insufficiencies, turn your focus to the promises, provision and protection Jesus has made available to you. His sacrifice was more than sufficient. Trust that you became right with God the moment you believed and start really living!