Rescued from Religion

I'll never forget, it was the night before Easter of 2008. My wife was working feverishly in the kitchen preparing to host our first Easter dinner the next day. I, possessing not a drop of culinary talent, was supporting her from the other side of the counter--a safe distance away from all things breakable, burnable and prematurely eatable. Staring blankly into space, which is often what I do the closer it gets to midnight, I was hit with a thought that I've not forgotten since that very night. It was the realization that six years earlier, I had been rescued from the very religion that I thought would save me. This gave me a perspective on the first 24 years of my life that I never had before. 


From as early as I can remember, I was told that there was a God, so I believed it. I was told that He had a son named Jesus, so I believed it. I was told that His son died on the cross for my sins, so I believed it. I was told that the Bible was my instruction manual for living, so I believed it. But I had no idea how any of that actually applied to daily life, other than the fact that I was guaranteed a spot in Heaven when I died if and only if I agreed to all the above. So, I proudly carried the title of Christian with me until the day came when I realized I had no idea what it meant to truly believe in God. That day was September 11, 2001. A year prior, I had turned down a job that would've had me working in the Pentagon when America was attacked. Instead, I was safely watching the unforgettable scenes on TV six hours away. It was at that very moment I realized that God only existed in my head and not my heart. I had no idea what it meant to need Jesus as a Savior, even though I could tell you that He did in fact save me from my sins. There was a disconnect, and I didn't know what to do about it. So, I said this to God, "If You're real, show me what You're all about." Over the next year, He did. With every passing day, He opened my eyes to see my need for salvation; He opened my ears to hear His voice all around me, and He opened my heart to receive the love, grace, mercy and forgiveness that He offers to all those willing to ask for it. And what I came to realize on the night before Easter six years later was that He had rescued me from religion and saved me with a relationship.