Religion vs. Relationship

Luke 11:52 "How terrible it will be for you experts in religious law! For you hide the key to knowledge from the people. You don't enter the Kingdom yourselves, and you prevent others from entering.".

I fear for many who "represent" God before man. So many hide themselves behind Biblical "knowledge" and have very little compassion for others. Many pride themselves in their knowledge or position in life. Many are driven to excel in how they are portrayed before others instead of before God. Many strive for academic knowledge at the expense of spiritual knowledge. Many seemingly know the Scriptures well; yet, they barely know He who is the author of the Scriptures.

It is so easy to hide ourselves behind the Scriptures and lose sight of how to live them. If that's not bad enough, these "leaders" in the church influence others and keep them away from God. Many hold the Scriptures in low esteem and offer people the wisdom of man instead of the wisdom of God. They confuse the minds of their people to the point where they don't know the truth and as a result, they don't know Jesus as Savior and Lord. They create religious people, but not a people with a relationship with God.

The Lord holds each of us accountable for how we handle the Word. We are to be learners of it, but more importantly, we are to be livers of it. What we know about God won't get us to heaven, knowing God will. Knowledge without the relationship is valueless and vanity. There is nothing more tragic than to get wrapped up in what we know and lose grip on Who we should know. The Lord desires a relationship with us, not a people who are religious fools. Religion will not get you to heaven, a life-changing relationship with Christ will. Don't let your religious thoughts keep you from Christ. Get to know Him well and he will teach you all you need to know. He is the way, truth, and life. He alone can get you to heaven.