Real Religion

Back in 2002 I came home to California on vacation from Alabama.  I had such a great time.  I always considered myself fortunate to grow up in such a beautifully diverse state.  We have become so diverse that you will find a city within a city where people from different countries have gathered to create their own communities.  It is a beautiful picture of how God created us all so differently.

Now while we were on vacation I had an opportunity to see a lot of my family members that I had not seen in a while.  In particular was my older brother.  He and I have always been very close and I believe growing up my brother was my god.  He just could not do wrong in my eyes.  He was the best brother in the world.  He played with me, he listened to me, protected me and even let me hang out with him all of the time.  As time went on our hearts never grew apart but we just didn't keep in touch as we should have. 

On this one particular day, I decided to surprise him and just show up.  When I got there he was talking all kinds of mess (jokingly of course).  We had a habit of talking (excuse my expression) s**t to one another but I just couldn't do it this time.  For the first time I saw my brother differently.  Not that I thought that I was better than him but I knew that there was someone I knew better than him OR myself who changed my whole personality around.  He noticed it too.  As we sat down and caught up with each other somewhere in the conversation he ask me if I had become on of those "religious" folks.  My response was, "No, I am not religious.  I just love God."  Now at the time I just wanted him to understand that I was not one of those church going folks that did nothing but judge and persecute those that did not believe.  I understood that those type of people had forgotten where they came from. I believe I was kind of defending my change also.

As I look back on my response I think if he asked me that question today my answer would be different.  This morning I was reading in  James 1:26-27 and it says this, "Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless. Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world."  I didn't realize then that my faith, my religion was being tested.  I was religious then and I am religious now.  My focus is no longer on that tall dark man who loved and protected me as a little girl.  My eyes are now focused by faith, on the unseen God who loves, protects and has given me the key to eternal life.  My eyes are now fixed on the abandoned and broken who need to know that love and security of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  Daily I seek God for His instructions and even when I slip up and get off track He is there helping me to refocus.  I want to live a life for my brother and everyone else that I cross paths with, that will exemplify "Real Religion."  The question I will start asking myself when I am tempted to allow the old me to rise up is, "Is it real?"