What is the "right" way to worship God so that we can be sure that we'll get into heaven? People perpetually ask some version of this question. The Bible gives us more than one example: "Which commandment in the law is the greatest?" (Matt. 22:36, NRSV) "What must I do to inherit eternal life?" (Luke 10:25) "What must I do to be saved?" (Acts 16:30) The "woman at the well" engaged Jesus in a conversation about where and how to properly worship God. (See John 4.)

Discussions about what we must "do to be saved" strike a deep chord within us. Why? Because behind them is the abiding human need to feel secure. We want to know that we are okay with God, that we are doing what we are supposed to be doing. But Jesus refused to reduce the life of faith to mere rules. Instead, he always turned these questions into discussions about relationship.

One of my favorite stories showing this is Jesus' encounter with the lawyer recorded in Luke 10. The lawyer asks one of the questions quoted above - "What must I do to inherit eternal life?" (verse 25) Jesus responds by asking another question, "What is written in the law?" (verse 26)

The lawyer responds, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself" (verse 27). This is not a list of rules. This tells us that the life of faith as God wants us to live it is about continuing, deep, loving relationship with God and with people. Jesus acknowledges this, saying, "Do this, and you will live." According to Jesus, loving God and others is the door into eternal life.

But the lawyer can't leave it there. He comes back, asking again for rules: "And who is my neighbor?" (verse 29) In other words, which people and how many people do I have to love? Where is the line between enough and not enough? The lawyer wants Jesus to set some minimum standards, to tell him exactly when he can know he has done enough, when he is okay, when he is "in."

In response Jesus tells the story of the Good Samaritan, which ends with the Samaritan committing himself to continuing, open-ended responsibility for the injured man he has rescued. (See Luke 10:25-37.) There is no "enough" in this story. Jesus is saying to the lawyer and to us that rules cannot describe what God asks of us. God calls us into relationship, and that consists of much more than rules.

Perhaps we think the spiritual life would be easier if there were clear rules about behavior in every situation. But Jesus tells us always that the spiritual life is not about rules; it is about relationship. Every relationship is unique, and each of us has a unique relationship with God. Parents who have more than one child know that their children are different, that what "works" in a relationship with one child may not work with another. Each child relates differently to parents than his or her siblings do. So when we commit ourselves to loving others, we are not committing ourselves to a one-size-fits-all religious practice. We are committing ourselves to give our attention to the unique individuals around us, to listen to them, to know them, to respond to their unique needs. No set of rules could ever fit everyone and every situation. Looking at each person and decision requires more effort and attention than responding automatically, but when we do so, we honor the other person.

Similarly, when we commit ourselves to relationship with God, we are committing to a unique relationship that we each nurture in individual ways. We pray differently, we serve differently, we deepen our love for God by different spiritual practices. Such indefiniteness makes some people uncomfortable. But when their jailer in Philippi asked them, "What must I do to be saved?" Paul and Silas did not give a list of rules about future behavior and practice. They invited him into a relationship, saying simply, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ." They did not stipulate how that believing had to begin or what form individual believing had to take - because Christ relates to each of us uniquely. As we follow Christ, we will learn to recognize the Spirit's nudges; we learn to recognize how God leads us individually. We cannot know where such open-ended commitment will take us, but if we are following Christ, we can trust that our destination is somewhere deep within the heart of God. Rules can be comforting, but the spiritual life is not about rules. It's about relationship.

You may want to read again the meditations for September 3, 4, 9, 13, 14, 15, 18, 25, and 29 and October 5, 9, 11, 15, 16, 21, and 29 before responding to the reflection questions below.

Questions for Reflection:

1. What "rules" do you keep as a part of your spiritual life? Where or from whom did you learn these rules?
2. Does keeping religious rules make you feel closer to God? Why or why not?
3. Do you adhere to religious or "spiritual" rules that prevent the possibility of relationship with some people? How do you imagine Jesus would respond to people we are reluctant to be with?
4. When have you been in a situation where your usual rules did not seem to apply? How did you serve God in that situation, with no rules to guide you?
5. What practices can help us strengthen our relationship with God? How can we keep faith practices from becoming rigid and limiting us in knowing and loving God?

- Mary Lou Redding

From The Upper Room® daily devotional guide, September/October 2008. Copyright © 2008 The Upper Room. All Rights Reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.

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