Assalaam `alaikum

Dear Friend,

Recently I was at a friend's house. At one point he brought up religion. A friend of his shortly got up and went out the back onto the deck. When he didn't return, my friend went to see where he went. He was still there, but when questioned, stated, "I don't want to get into religion. It's not good to talk about that."

"Let's not talk about religion." Have you ever heard that? Why is that? Well, most times it's because people feel that religion separates people. It causes hard feelings and disrupts friendships. But does real religion do that? Doesn't genuine religion treat others as they want to be treated? When the prophet Jesus (hpbu) lived on this earth, he taught that we need to love our neighbor as ourselves. Later in the Injil, one of the apostles recorded that there is no law against living in obedience and submission to the Holy Spirit of God. This is what it means to follow Jesus Christ (hpbu). The problem is that when people think about "religion" they think of a set of laws that one follows in order to make themselves acceptable to God. That may be some people's idea of "religion" but that is not what it means to be apart of God's kingdom. True religion is empowered by the very spirit of God. It is a changing power in our lives. When it is in force it naturally fulfills the law that God gives.

Many times "religion" is equated with forcing one's beliefs on others or adhering to facts so rigidly that in the end, they bring harm to their fellow human beings. And in fact, some people who say they follow Jesus Christ (hpbu) may be unkind in the manner in which they tell others about him. That is unfortunate but does that mean that they shouldn't say anything at all about Jesus (hpbu)? Is it wrong if I say that the LA Lakers won the NBA championship play-offs? That is a fact. If I choose not to believe it, does that change the fact at all? If they were my favorite team and I go around boasting of their win, that would be wrong, but the Lakers would not be at fault. Neither would the fact of their win be any less true. The problem would be my arrogance. On the other hand, if someone vehemently denied the fact of their win, they would have a problem with denying the truth.

Believing in what Jesus Christ (hpbu) has done for mankind is not boasting, but is thankfully dealing with the truth in a way that agrees with reality. Belief in Jesus Christ (hpbu) is just as much an attitude as an action. Unlike the news of the Lakers' win, the news of the death of Jesus Christ (hpbu) for you and me has eternal consequences. For this reason it is reasonable to share this with all, so all have the chance to do the reasonable thing. If one questions whether it is really reasonable to believe in his death for us or not, they need to be given the opportunity to investigate further and find out why Jesus (hpbu) and those who follow him think it is reasonable that all should hear this wonderful news and rejoice in it.

Sincerely,
Your friend, a servant of truth

Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NIV®
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