Praise and glory to our soon coming Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
This article is an attempt to have a retrospection of our Christian lives. I start with an earnest desire to have that of myself in the first place so that I can at least desire true intervention of the Spirit in my life who would keep me in the right path. The reason why I am sharing this with you is with the hope that every believer is led by the Spirit to Him rather than anything else which just carries His name. I hope and pray that someone out there would benefit from it. It is the burden of every sincere Christian (follower of Jesus) that many ‘believers’ have lost a connection with God though they practice a form of religion with the name ‘Christian’. If the connection with the person is lost, there is little or no dependency on God. The major barriers to true spirituality are
Unbelief (atheism, false religions)
Worldliness
Religiosity
We are not addressing unbelief and worldliness here but looking at religiosity and true spirituality instead. This is so important as we see a majority of believers practicing religion instead of living a spirit led life. What is the difference between religion and true spirituality?
To do this retrospection, we shall look at the general types among believers to understand our spiritual state better. Let us accept that there is an element of most of these types in each of us, in varying degrees. So we have to really look at ourselves through the eyes of God to get light. When we look at ourselves through our own eyes, we might find it almost perfect. Let the Holy Spirit speak to us personally.
For the purpose of understanding each point clearly and ensuring we do not forget what we are discussing as we proceed, let us note the bottom lines in each section. Let us register these points as we move forward.
Following Rituals & traditions – Leads to Religion (Jesus had to speak hard and criticize the Pharisees for their religiosity without a personal connection with God).
Following Jesus Christ – Leads to True spirituality. Jesus said “I am the way, the truth and the life”. Obedience of holy sacraments when following Jesus comes out from the relationship and hence is much above ritualistic practices.
(please read the full article - link below)
http://maninchrist.org/having-the-right-perspectives-on-christian-life/