Falling in love....

There is a song I've been hearing on the radio a lot lately called "More Like Falling in Love". I really haven't payed much attention to the words but the chorus is catchy & I've found myself singing it a lot. A few days ago I looked up the lyrics online & was struck by them.

The basic idea of the song is that you'll never get anywhere following religion. I've always been kind of a stinker when people ask if I'm religious. I tell them no. That shocks people because anyone who knows me knows that I am a Christian & my faith is very important to me. But then I follow up that statement by telling them that I have a relationship, not a religion. And really, that's true. There's a giant difference between the two. I don't find my faith in following a bunch of rules & guidelines, but in living a very intimate & personal relationship with God. Because of His sacrifice for me, I am FREE from having to follow a bunch of rules to 'earn' my righteousness. Praise the Lord!

I've been reminded several times lately that no one wants to hear about your religion. No one wants it crammed down their throat. No one wants to be approached on the street by a person who screams & rants at them -- and street preachers are no different. No one wants to feel like you are forcing something on them. It's like being on a used car lot & having a salesman follow you around & drive you crazy about buying a car. You try to be all nice & friendly until you either (a) have to get rude to make him/her leave you alone or (b) you wait til they're not looking & run away!

With Valentine's Day coming up, I've been asking conversation-starter type questions on Facebook recently, engaging my friends in telling me "their story". I love hearing about people's lives and so I've asked things like "How did your spouse propose?" or "How did you meet your spouse? Did you know right away that he/she was "the one"? How long did you date before you got married?" I'm a total sap & loving hearing about the romance in the lives of those around me.

It finally occurred to me tonight while reading those stories that faith in God is just like that....and this song I've been hearing really started making sense to me. We, as Christians, want the world to know God. We want them to see what we see in Jesus. We want to see them place their faith in Him. We want to convert the world, but we don't know how to go about it without driving people crazy...or worse, driving them further from Him! There is a documentary out called "Lord Save Us from Your Followers". I own the DVD but haven't had a chance to watch it yet. The whole thing is about a man who travelled around asking people for their opinions about Christians. While there were some nice comments, the majority of the people said things about how we are hypocrites or we're irritating because we constantly come down on them for doing something that is not up to our standards. Remember the old saying about how you'll catch more flies with honey than vinegar? If you have someone steadily berating you & beating you over the head about how bad & wrong you are, are you going to want to go to church with them & meet their Jesus? No way!

For most of us who are sold out Jesus freaks, we found our way to a relationship with Him because we fell in love with who He is & what He did for us....not because someone beat us over the head with that info. Many of us grew up in homes where Christianity was the practiced faith so we never really knew anything but the grace of God & the mercy extended to us by Jesus. That's fabulous & wonderful, but if we are to reach others for Christ, we're going about it all wrong. Have you extended grace to anyone this week? Have you shown them love & mercy? Have you offered to help them out of an impossible situation rather than shunning them or pointing out all the wrong steps they took to lead to that place? Are you putting out vinegar or honey? Are they going to fall in love with Him because of the way you, someone who represents Him, treated them?

More Like Falling in Love lyrics:
Give me rules, I will break them
Show me lines, I will cross them
I need more than a truth to believe
I need a truth that lives, moves, and breathes
To sweep me off my feet

Chorus:
Its gotta be
More like falling in love
Than something to believe in
More like losing my heart
Than giving my allegiance
Caught up, called out
Come take a look at me now
Its like I'm falling, Ohhhh
Its like I'm falling in love

Give me words, I'll misuse them
Obligations, I'll missplace them
Cuz all religion ever made of me
Was just a sinner with a stone tied to my feet
It never set me free

Chorus:
Its gotta be
More like falling in love
Than something to believe in
More like losing my heart
Than giving my allegiance
Caught up, called out
Come take a look at me now
Its like I'm falling
Its like I'm falling in love

Love, Love
Deeper and deeper
It was love that made me a believer
In more than a name, a faith, a creed
Falling in love with Jesus brought the change in me

Chorus:
Its gotta be
More like falling in love
Than something to believe in
More like losing my heart
Than giving my allegiance
Caught up, called out
Come take a look at me now
Its like I'm falling, Ohhhh
Its like I'm falling
(repeat chorus)