Clay in the Hands

I have been reading out of Colossians this week while practicing lectio divina (a fancy term for meditative prayer and reading).  Chapter 2 of that book deals with getting at the heart of what it means to follow Jesus – and also points out in the process, what doesn’t lead us to Jesus.

Verses 13 – 15 of chapter 2 talk about the fact that when God saves us, we are freed from the rules that man has put in place (you can read it here).  Verse 14 gives us a very vivid picture of what God thinks of the rules man has set in place to make our way to God.  It says that God canceled those regulations and took that code “that opposed us” and nailed it to the cross along with Jesus.  In other words, all the things man had put into place that were necessary to follow God, to draw near to God – all those things were destroyed.  I don’t know about you but that is a liberating thought for me.

It got me to thinking – what code have we put into place in modern day religion that opposes people?  Or put another way, what hurdles have we placed in our religious systems that make it difficult for people to come to God?

Do we expect people to act a certain way to come into our churches?  Do we expect people to talk a certain way to come into our churches?  Do we expect people to dress a certain way to come into our churches?  Do we expect people to like what we like to come into our churches?

Reading this passage reminds me that the rules we throw up that make it harder for people to come to Jesus are not of God.

How do you make it hard for people to follow Jesus?