I’ve heard this statement many times over the years as I’ve talked with people all around the world about their beliefs: “All religions are basically the same anyway, so just choose the one that works for you.”
It feels nice and accepting and loving. And there is some truth to it. At their core, all religions are basically the same: man’s attempts to connect with God (or gods or the spiritual world in general). Whether it’s through meditation or prayers or lighting a candle or various religious duties or offering food on small altars or fasting or chanting, humans are trying to connect with something (or Someone) larger than themselves. This is religion.
And out of all the leaders and founders of the world’s various religions, none claimed to be perfect or know the exact way. Except one.
Though I grew up in a Christian home, I didn’t think it right to claim that Christianity was the best and only way to connect with God unless I really examined and researched the other world’s religions. I needed to know what they were claiming and how they worked.
Over the years, I’ve done just that. And I’ve found that Christianity (real Christ-following) is actually RADICALLY different than all other religions because of one person: Jesus.
I’m not talking about the kind of Christianity that means going to church on Sunday and then living anyway you please the rest of the week. I’m not talking about a cultural Christianity or a social club. In fact, Christianity is the only religion that is not actually, well, a religion.
There is no set of rules you must follow, just a Man. A God-Man. There is nothing we can do to earn our way into God’s approval because all of our “good deeds” are never enough to make us perfect and holy.
Jesus is the only one who ever claimed to be God. All other religious leaders try to point us to the way that leads to God (or gods or the spiritual realm), but only Jesus said, “Actually, I – ME- I am THE WAY.” This is a radical claim. Either He was a complete lunatic, deliberately trying to deceive everyone, or He actually was God. (If you want a really good book on this subject, get a copy of The Case for Christ by Lee Strobel- a journalist and devout atheist sets out to prove Christianity a hoax.)
I found that only Jesus deals with the issue of sin (aka immorality). The law of karma or an “eye for an eye” offers justice when we do something wrong. If I steal this bread, for justice to be served, I must pay back another loaf (and possibly some extra slices) to make up for my crime. But paying back a new loaf of bread doesn’t clear my record. I still have “thief” stamped on my name. Even if I spend my whole life giving people bread, it doesn’t erase the wrong I’ve done, though it does show that I have truly repented.
And what about all the accumulated wrong I’ve done in my life? You may say, “But that’s not worthy of punishment.” Or is it? We basically live most of our lives only thinking about ourselves. Sure, my sins might seem minor: cutting people off in traffic to get to my destination faster, being grumpy with my kids because I’m tired of their whining, judging the other preschool moms for looking too “pulled-together” when I’m still dropping my kid off in my pajamas. Small crimes, right? But what if I wasn’t raised the way I was? By good parents in a good home in a {mostly} stable society? Would my crimes have added up to more, to something more drastic? You see the root is the same: putting myself first. Putting my needs and desires above those of others. Pride. Lust. Jealousy. Envy. Criticism. Worry. Control. Self. SELF. All centered around me. Not trusting God to help but trying to do it all on my own. Living only for me. A slave to my own mortality.
Jesus said if I want to really live, I have to die to myself. I have to take up my cross and follow Him. The only way out is death. I can’t dress it up. I can’t self-help my way to better. I can’t make up for all that I’ve done. The self-life must die. And I must be born again. In Jesus.
Jesus came to start a revolution. First in our hearts and then into the world. He came to die. To offer His life as a payment for our sin. To reconcile us to the Father. To give us new hearts. To bring us from darkness into light. From death into life. From orphans into a family.
If Jesus would have died on the cross and stayed where he was buried, he’d be like all the other religious teachers. A wise man who offered many truths about God. But he didn’t. He rose again 3 days after His death. King over the grave. King over sin. Able to offer hope to the world.
This is why the universe radically shifted circa 33AD.
If this is true (and it’s worth researching), then it demands a response. We can either ignore it, dismiss it, or embrace it. If I really believe that Jesus is who He says that He is, it would be unloving of me to not tell the world that, yes, there is a better way. I can’t force anyone (nor would I want to) to believe as I do, but my love and concern for them compels me to share. I mean, sometimes my interest for others compels me to share a funny meme, so how much MORE so should it with the answer to this life and the one to come?!
The life we see now is only temporary. There is a time coming when we will be held accountable for every deed, every word, every thought. I know I’m not good enough to deserve eternal life with a spotless, holy Father. (But He wants me to share that life with Him.) That’s why I choose to trust in the work that He did for me. I choose to take His Way. And in that Way, find Life.
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