Tradition

So I am wide awake right now and it is close to three in the morning. Lately, I have had this stirring inside of me to write and sort out my thoughts on various topics. A topic that has recently popped into my head is the idea of tradition. Tradition is something that can be a good or bad thing in our lives. Traditions can be good when we spend time with our family during certain times of the year for the holidays. We can enjoy being with one another as we celebrate different rituals that make us come together as a family. Tradition can be good even in the church with communion as we remember what Jesus did by symbolically taking the bread and wine to remember His body being broken and the blood that redeemed our souls. The part that tends to be bad about tradition is how we can become content and comfortable with where we are in our walk with Christ. We go through the motions and we don't work forward. We become the lukewarm cup of water that God would rather spit out of His mouth than savor and enjoy. It's so easy to fall into the snares and traps of complacency. We can use tradition to get off course and focus on the insignificant details. It's important that we keep focused on Christ. I think if Jesus came back to the world today, He would have some different ideas. I think Jesus would be more concerned with the condition of a person's heart rather than the people who are religious and point fingers at others. The Bible says that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God but we seem to overlook that. We can be very religious people who are so arrogant in thinking that we have "arrived". We feel like we have the license to pass judgement on anyone. If you read in the New Testament, Jesus detested these people. The Pharisees would use their religious acts and rituals in public to give the perception of being holy. I think the only way we will see change is by allowing God to take our traditions and examine our hearts to rid us of our arrogance and pride. He is the only one who can bring change to our lives and help us to live a genuine life without sin.