Jesus [is greater than] Religion

The rate at which I’m finishing books (because I tend to read one and listen to one at the same time) has caused me to change the way they are presented. Originally, I wanted to do a book a month. However, there are a few months where I haven’t gotten any books finished, and others when I’ve finished more than one. (This is the 12th book since I started in June though, so I’m coming out at an average of more than one a month). So, instead of “Book of the Month” I now present to you “Book Brief.” The first book under this new label is Jesus > Religion by Jefferson Bethke.

Unintentionally becoming an overnight star, Bethke started by simply posting this spoken word to Youtube. From that video stems this book. It’s a personal look at his journey to come to true faith in and relationship with Jesus, and what it means to actually follow him. Bethke’s major point throughout the video and the book is this- the religion we have turned Christianity into is not the Christ we are supposed to be portraying. Multiple times, he addresses how the general perception of Christianity in society today (especially amongst college students) is that of rules. Thou shalt not… thou shalt not… thou shalt not… Not only rules but those who are not good enough.

There are so many people out there who feel they aren’t good enough for Jesus, or that God hates them. Where do they get this impression? From those who claim to be doing God’s will. From those whom supposedly are following Him. And yet, these concepts are not the concepts that Christ is teaching. Christ came to free the world from the bondage of though shalt nots… Christ died to bring everyone into his loving embrace. Nobody is excluded from being welcomed back; nobody is too bad; nobody is hated.

Bethke does a great job to contrast religion as we see it- an institution set up by man that seeks to tell people what to do to be good enough- with Christ- a God who came to earth to say I love you just as you are, and will do anything to bring you back to Me. What’s more beautiful and welcoming than that, and why would anybody want to tell someone they aren’t good enough or aren’t allowed to be welcomed into that. That’s the opposite message that Christ was bringing. Constantly throughout the gospel, Christ was dispelling the idea that you had to be perfect, or a religious elite, in order to have favor with God. He stood up for the women caught in adultery; he went to the houses of those whom nobody else would; he allowed the woman to clean his feet with her hair, and rebuke his disciples when they complained about it.

Is that the Christ that Christianity is showing to the world today? For the most part, I think Bethke, and myself, would argue no. The Christ that Christians are showing looks a lot more like the Pharisees, whose actions, behaviors and attitudes were never once condoned by Jesus in the recorded gospels. That should tell us a lot about what we have turned the God we claim to follow into. That’s not the Jesus of reality, nor is it how His people are supposed to act. It’s up to us, one a time, to come back to a following of Jesus that breaks free of the religious holds we’ve put on it (do this, do that and you’ll be good enough; put on a show; be perfect) and just be with Him as we are, as He has called us to be, and show that love He has for us to others, so that they may be with Him just as they are as well.