Rules vs Relationship

I finished reading Blue Like Jazz and I highly recommend it to anyone and everyone. It’s a great read. The author is refreshingly honest and thought-provoking. One thing he got me thinking about is how the Christian faith is often seen and taught as a set of rules – just a bunch of do’s and don’t’s. We overemphasize the rules so often, when it would probably be better to put more emphasis on other things like the character of Jesus. Perhaps we need to spend more time teaching our children to talk to and listen for God than teaching them things like "swearing is bad" or "smoking is evil," and so on.

For his birthday, Jonah received a book from his Aunt, Uncle and cousin called Children, Can You Hear Me? I have really appreciated reading through this book myself. I have learned from it and look forward to when Jonah is big enough that we can use it as a tool to teach him about Jesus and listening for His voice. Let me just share 3 pages of the book, because I am sure you can learn from them too:

Do you remember my cross?
You can meet me there, too.
Do you see me?

My cross is a good place to leave your burdens.
A burden is anything that makes you feel bad.
What makes you feel bad?
Would you like to leave it here with me?

I’ll take all of your burdens, if you like.
They’re much easier for me to carry.
No problem at all.

Can I have them?


When we meet, how can you know it’s really me?
That’s easy!

If you hear and see things that make you
hate others or yourself,
That’s not me.

If you hear and see things that make you
feel afraid or ashamed,
That’s not me either.

And if you hear and see things that make you
want to hide from me,
You guessed it: Not me.

There’s no one quite like me!


The things I say are right and true and pure.
They help you to love me and other people.
They also help you lift others up when they feel low.
They give you strength and comfort, joy, and peace.

Another way to be sure it’s me
is to compare what you hear in your heart with
how I sound in my book, the Bible
or with what I say to other people who know me.

If you’re not sure it’s me, just ask!


Too often we emphasize rules when God would rather we accept his grace, focus on our relationship with him, and learn to love Him and others. We can never measure up to a bunch of rules, but we can definitely learn to talk to and hear God.

All of this reminding me of a book that a friend gave me called The Ragamuffin Gospel. I dug it out today to start back at it, as I haven’t read it entirely. I’ll try to remember to report back on it later.