Is it possible to live a relationship of love and understanding in the rule regulated religious performance culture of today?

Is it possible to live a relationship of love and understanding in the rule regulated religious performance culture of today? 

What does it mean to focus on relational living as a believer rather than on doctrinal performance living? Maybe instead of “telling” people the rules of conduct to keep in order to be a believer, we live by example and “show” people what a Christ like life and character is. I believe it encompasses that we support people where they are in their spiritual journey and then walk alongside of them supporting them in their journey encouraging them, instead of pointing out their failures and telling them what they should do to correct their failures according to the way we think they should.

Living relationally means we live the gospel we tell people about. That is nothing more than living as a loved child of God expressing His love, understanding and His power that is available from living as His loved child as we lead people to trust in Jesus instead of getting them how to trust in religious performance to be accepted by religion.

We are to express God’s love and forgiveness and that He will always forgive them no matter how bad they screw up and there is nothing they have done that will cause God to love them any less. God knows that we are human and people need to know that there is room for failure in our spiritual journey without receiving condemnation.

We ought to be such a representative of the grace and love of God we never condemn people. They ought to know that God’s arms of acceptance are extended toward non-believers; God loves them as much as He loves those who are believers. There is nothing a person can do to deserve God’s love before of after coming a relationship with Him. His love is not something people earn. He just loves people.

A relational journey of relationship in being a child of God is not because of do’s and don’ts you adhere to in order to gain God’s favor, such as reading the bible, praying, sharing the word, singing etc. It is that you partake in these things because you love Him and it deepens your relationship with Him.

We are to emphasize that people are saved by grace plus nothing! People can do nothing to gain or maintain salvation. Because they may fail in some area does not mean that God loves them less or that He is going to beat them with a stick because of their failure. They are not to run from God when the fail, let them know that His arms are wide open for them to run into, His love and forgiveness extends beyond their failures to them.

We are not to give a pious impression by articulating the right religious phrases, or portraying a righteous attitude when others are around just to make them believe we have it all down pat with regard to being a believer. Sometimes we show the attitude that every thing is honky-dory and we have all our spiritual ducks in a row with no personal failures in life. All of us including leaders must be honest and freely admit that we mess up like the rest of the people.

As believers and leaders we must free to say that ‘I don’t know”. Even though we may have been on this journey for a while, there are things we do not understand. We also must have the guts to admit we have had doubts about God or His ways in certain instances. If we want relationships to be fruitful people have to matter more than rules and regulations, we have to create room for doubts, we must be ready to answer questions honestly, and we must be willing to be open to discuss issues rather than being the preverbal mouthpiece of spiritual verbiage as the pipeline from God to the people. We have to let people walk their own spiritual journey and not the one we perceive they should walk.

I am well aware that rule and regulation, agenda driven, event-driven-meetings, and obligated attendance is a lot more controllable and predictable and is easier to lead than being a servant and walking alongside of people in a relational journey. But as we travel alongside of them on their spiritual journey to support them, God is actually the one in control of their spiritual journey and not an organization. Let’s point people to Jesus the Head of the Church and help them grow in relationship with Him and not our little religious institutions. In essence the relational way is the way Jesus lived and is the way of the Church He established and is building.