Relationship vs. Religion: Salvation is not like Santa
Religion
Religious hoops and impossible checklists are not how salvation works because we can’t work our way to heaven.
We cannot earn God’s love based on our good deeds. This is good news because we also cannot lose God’s love for us based on our mistakes.
Salvation is NOT like Santa. It’s not about being good or bad. Read this parable right here to see for yourself!
God’s love for you is unconditional! His love is not like the experience many had with their parents or teachers growing up… Where you felt like love and approval was based on whether you could be good or not? Or do good or not?
Relationship
Salvation cannot come through religion to earn perfection. Salvation comes through faith in the only Perfect One, God’s Son Jesus.
Jesus came and died for a relationship with you, His Beloved. And healthy relationships are never ever based on rote checklists and expectations.
Healthy relationships are based on self-sacrificing service and unconditional love for others.
Faith alone
We are saved (washed clean, made whole, set free) only by our faith in Christ through the grace of God.
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.
A prayer
Father, I’m sorry for trying to earn your love. I renounce thinking that I can earn your love by checking the right boxes. I confess that Jesus is the Son of God and He died for me… because He loves me. Help me grow in trust and in faith that your love for me is unconditional. I give you my heart and my life.
In Jesus’s name,
amen
If you have any questions, share them in the comments below. That’s what I’m here for!
