Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly. Matthew 11:28–30 (MSG)
When people find out that I’m a pastor, a common phrase I hear is, “I don’t like organized religion.” I always respond, “Me either,” which really confuses people. They can’t understand how a pastor could say that he hates religion, but it’s true. There’s nothing about religion I enjoy.
You see, just because you follow Jesus doesn’t mean you’re religious. There are both religious and non-religious Christians.
Religion weighs people down with rules and rituals to perform to try to please God. It assumes you have to earn your way into God’s good books, which is actually impossible. You’ll never be perfect enough to earn a place in His family, which is why religion is so exhausting, frustrating and hopeless.
Jesus didn’t come to earth to start another religion. He made that clear in our verse today. He came to free us from the futility of religion and offer us something so much better: a real relationship with Him. Through that relationship, we can rest. We can learn what grace really is. We can live freely and lightly.
When Christians move away from Jesus’ message of freedom and grace and move toward depressing, desperate religion, it breaks my heart. Don’t ever forget that a real relationship with Jesus offers so much more than rules and rituals ever could.