“These people honour me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules.”

(Matthew 15:8-9 NIV)

Jesus desires relationship, not empty rituals.

Today’s focus is on breaking free from the mindset that Christianity is about performing religious duties. Instead, we’re called to walk in a vibrant, daily relationship with Jesus.

The definition of a ritual is this:

‘Any practice or pattern of behavior regularly performed in a set manner.’

I don’t know about you, but this definition challenges me!

When I think about my daily quiet time with the Lord it is the very definition of ritualism. I sit in the same place, with my Bible and journal. I listen to the same instrumental worship playlist. I follow the same pattern of events.

Now, whilst I don’t think there is anything lacking from this set up and I believe that it is fruitful and authentic, today’s verse would suggest that there is more.

The danger with worship and quiet times that are ritualistic is that they can become stagnant. To fend this possibility off we must do things such as mix up the songs we worship to – sing our own song in the Spirit even! We must change our space to ensure that we don’t become over-familiar with the location in which we have our quiet time. Perhaps take a prayer walk or climb a hill at sunrise or sunset.

If your habit/routine/ritual is done in love, there is no issue. It is when our habit/routine/ritual becomes mere duty that I believe we are selling short our relationship with Jesus.

This premise extends far beyond quiet time. We can sleepwalk through our Church life, even volunteer and be involved in serving, but without the lifeblood of authenticity running through us.

It is relationship with Jesus that will keep our discipleship alive, not duty.

Where might you be falling into religious rituals without genuine connection to Jesus?

How can you shift your focus from simply “going through the motions” to a heart of authentic worship and relationship with Christ?

May I encourage you to ask God to reveal any areas where your faith has become more about ritual than relationship? Pray for a renewed focus on drawing closer to Jesus, experiencing Him personally, not just through outward actions.

Our relationship with Jesus has the capacity to be multi-dimensional. Let’s never settle for 2D when we have a world of glorious relationship available to us.