Christianity: routine or relationship?

July 26

Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. - Colossians 3:2

One afternoon a young lady came home with a new dog that she just adored. She fed him, washed him, and played with him every day. But very quickly, the dog developed a bad habit of pulling down the clothes hanging from the clothesline.

So the girl came up with a clever idea: She put a white kitchen towel on the line and waited. Every time the dog pulled it off, she scolded him. After two weeks, the towel was untouched. So she hung out a large load of laundry and left to do some errands. When she came home, her clean clothes were scattered everywhere. But left hanging on the line was her white kitchen towel!

Like that dog, many people become very good at learning the routines of the Christian life, yet they completely miss the point. They wake up early to have their devotional times, they go to church on Sunday, and they pray at night. But when it comes to knowing God, the routine often takes precedence over the relationship.

Read your Bible… go to church… pray. But do all of these out of a heartfelt relationship with God through Jesus Christ. Don’t do the routine for the sake of routine. Instead, let the routine simply be worship of the almighty God who loves you!

Prayer Challenge

Pray and ask God to show you where your ‘Christian routine’ falls short of heartfelt worship. Ask Him to give you a new focus as you live each day walking with Jesus Christ.

Questions for Thought

What are some things you do as part of your ‘Christian routine’ that are at risk of losing their meaning if you don’t refocus?

Can you think of some changes you can make that will help you refocus your routine on heartfelt worship of God?

Visit the Senior Living Ministries website

Visit the Senior Living Ministries website