Fed Up?

Have you ever traveled to an “All Inclusive” resort?  It is a must at least once in your life.  For one week every year, my husband and I enjoy being waited on, soaking up the rays, and eating.  The hotel we stay at has 2 fancy restaurants, several huge buffets, snack bars and of course, room service.  Needless to say, if you go away hungry, it’s your own fault.  While I may feel full after a meal, the scent of burgers on the grill awakens my taste buds from their siesta. Food, glorious food, and I can have as much as I want, it’s all included! In many ways, our life in Christ is similar to the all-inclusive concept.  He calls us to his banqueting table, one that groans under the weight of all the delectable delights he has to offer; Grace, justification, righteousness, salvation, freedom, strength, wisdom, and the growing knowledge of Him.  I might be sated for a while, but those tantalizing treats keep calling me back; and it’s all paid for!!  Still, many people are starving, and others, sadly, say they’ve had enough.  While talking to a gentleman, recently, he told me that he’d had enough religion to last him the rest of his life. He wasn’t just full, he was “fed up“. The operative word in his statement was “religion“.  Religion can never satisfy, at least not in the  way a “relationship” with Jesus does. Religion is sort of like eating a package of flavorless rice cakes, your stomach may be full, but there was nothing enjoyable about the experience, and you probably won’t eat one again.  Don’t get me wrong, religion is not a dirty word, but it is a manmade concoction.  We certainly need the structure that organized religion offers, the problem arises when our attention is taken away from Jesus, and put on its rules and regulations.  No religious law can take the place of a relationship with God. When we accept Christ as our Lord and Savior, he opens the door to that exclusive and all-inclusive “resort”.  No, He won’t consider you a glutton when you go back for extra helpings, and there are no calories to be concerned with.  Ask yourself, are you fed up, or hungry for more? “On this mountain the LORD Almighty will prepare a feast of rich food for all peoples, a banquet of aged wine--the best of meats and the finest of wines.” Isaiah 25:6