Ritual or relationship?

What injustice have your fathers found in Me, that they have gone far from Me? —Jeremiah 2:5

New love is exciting! We’ve all seen it in newly married couples. It doesn’t matter if they’re 20 or 70, love makes their faces beautiful and their feet bounce. It’s not only true of marriages. We’ve seen people who lovingly wash and wax their new sports car—and then do it all over again. Whether it’s a new car or a new relationship, at first we respond with wholehearted devotion. But with the passing of time, excitement often fades. Unrealistic hopes can blind us to the flaws in the object of our affection. When we expect too much from a person or a possession, we set ourselves up for disappointment.

A car, a house, or a spouse may turn out to be less than ideal. But if our relationship with God cools, it’s because our communication has broken down and disinterest has set in. It’s then that intimacy is lost. It happened with Israel (Jer. 2:5-8); it happens with us. But we can’t blame God. He never changes. His love for us is unfailing!

If your relationship with the Lord has grown cold, take time to think about who He is and what He has done. Draw near to Him in prayer. Then you won’t be left wondering where your love has gone.

They stop asking, where is the Lord who brought us from the land of Egypt, who led us through the wilderness? Jeremiah 2:6

Are we going through the motions?

Christianity is an intimate, growing relationship with the person of Jesus Christ, it is not a set of doctrines to believe, habits to practice, or sins to avoid. Every activity God commands is intended to enhance His love relationship with His people. God designed worship for us to see Him in His glory and to respond appropriately; for many it has degenerated into “religion”, one more meeting to attend out of habit.

·         God established the sacrificial system so that we, His people, could express our love to Him; but we often diminish our gifts to our Lord into futile attempts to appease Him and to pacify our guilty conscience.

·         God gave us prayer so we could have conversation with Him, but we often distort this by “saying prayers” and hurrying off without ever listening to what is on our Father's heart.

·         God instituted His commandments as a protection for those He loves, but the commandments can become a pathway to legalism rather than an Avenue for a relationship with our Father in which He protects us from harm.

Religious activity apart from fellowship with God is empty ritual. The people of Jeremiah’s day were satisfied to have the ritual without the manifest presence of God. They became so comfortable with their religion that they didn't even notice God's absence.

·         They didn’t notice the joy slipping away.

·         They didn’t notice excitement for the Lord fading.

·         They didn’t notice the lack of detail in themselves or the church property.

·         They didn’t notice that the people were no longer coming to a alter confessing and repenting of sin.

·         They didn’t notice that they were not being transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit any longer.

·         They didn’t ask anymore where is God?

Moses was always keenly aware of the importance and necessity of having God’s presence with him and the people at all times.

Exodus 33:1-3

Moses response 33:15-16

(is it possible to pray, to attend a worship service, or to give an offering yet not to experience the presence of God?) It certainly is possible! And that has been the sad commentary on many a Christian experience.

God spoke to the people of Judah through the prophet Jeremiah, saying, “My people have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters, and [have made] broken cisterns that can hold no water” (Jer. 2:13). They had turned from the one true God to worthless God-substitutes.

To abandon God means we risk being made “desolate” (v.12). But obedience to Christ brings complete fulfillment that gives life, peace, and hope.

Don't settle for a religious life that lacks a vital relationship with Jesus Christ. When God is present, the difference will be obvious.

Don't just sit there in the Pew with faces and hearts of stone.