I am not a fan of organized religion.
I am a follower of Jesus Christ, and I believe every word of the Bible to be true. But I have never thought that any man or group should come between me and my relationship with the Lord, and all too often that’s the case in organized religion.
I grew up going almost every Sunday to a little white country church called Boonesboro Christian Church. Every week, the service was the same. We’d sing hymns, then children were dismissed to Sunday school, the adults would listen to whatever country preacher the congregation could afford (I remember once our preacher was also a lawyer—what an oxymoron!), then the children came back in, we’d sing more hymns, recite the Lord’s Prayer, pass the collection plate, sing another hymn, then we’d sing the closing hymn, which was always “God Be with You.” We would sing one verse and then say goodbye.
God be with you till we meet again,
by His counsels guide, uphold you
With His sheep securely fold you
God be with you till we meet again.
To the Evans family, religion and God were a Sunday thing. As our family walked out the doors of that church on Sunday afternoon, we pretty much left God inside. At the age of ten, I got baptized because that’s what I was expected to do. I tried to live an upright and moral life, as my parents and grandparents taught me. Looking back, I’m glad that our family went to Boonesboro Christian Church, because it did put the Word of God in my heart, and it was the beginning of my foundation. I didn’t doubt that God was always with me. My accident had proven that. But I didn’t understand what true salvation was until I was twenty-one years old.
I was working as a waitress in Nashville, trying to navigate Music City on my own. My brother Matt was in Dallas, and I felt really lost and alone without him.
I was out of town staying in a hotel. I picked up the Gideon Bible and just decided to start reading. When I got back to Nashville, I bought my own Bible and read it front to back. I couldn’t put it down. The words were literally jumping off the pages and landing on my heart.
One night, I was lying in bed and I realized that I needed to act on the words that I had read in the Bible. I wanted a full life in everything that the Word promised, and I wanted to go to heaven. I needed to ask Jesus into my heart.
Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes to the father, but by me.”
I believed those words and asked Jesus into my heart. I had never known such peace. And I’ve never been the same since.
From that point on, God became my true Father. For me, it wasn’t about duty or religion. I’ve never belonged to any specific church. No, for me it was all about falling in love with God. The Lord became my biggest confidant. No matter how many mistakes I’ve made, how many times I’ve pulled away from God, He has never left me or forsaken me.
Over the years, I’ve been to a lot of different churches. I’ve listened to hundreds of sermons, and I’m still learning and growing. But when it comes to God, all too often people get caught up in rules and “looking good” or how they’re perceived. If you say you’re a Christian, then suddenly you can’t drink wine or have fun. I think that’s a big reason why so many people don’t want anything to do with church or God, because they think they have to give up their fun. Or they think they are not good enough for God, so they decide to wait until they get “better” and then they’ll think about God.
There’s nothing you can do that makes you good enough.
Isaiah 64:6 talks about how all of our righteous acts are like filthy rags. In other words, we can’t work our way into God’s love. It’s given to us. It’s God’s grace, not how we dress, whether we drink alcohol or cuss or have a tattoo or attend church services multiple times a week. Only God’s grace can save us. Not ourselves and definitely no other man.
I think one of Satan’s greatest tools is to convince people that being religious means having to follow all of these rules. Religion is man’s attempt to get to God, while God’s way to man is through relationship. If anyone tells you that you need anything other than the cross or Jesus, what they are saying is false, plain and simple.
I’m raising my children this way, too, and I can’t tell you how many times people have thought that we aren’t Christians because we don’t always go to church and don’t do the kids’ Bible clubs. But I’ve always taught my kids that it’s about your heart and how you treat other people, not about being seen in church. They know there are three things I cannot stand: lying, hypocrisy, and cruelty. There are two rules that we follow, found in the Gospels: to love God with all your heart and love your neighbor as yourself. Twice recently, one of my daughters had her faith questioned by others because of not being involved in church and for having a friend who is agnostic. That’s not what the Bible teaches at all. Jesus preached love and forgiveness and kindness and hanging out with the unlikely ones.
Back in Nashville after I accepted Christ into my heart, nothing instantly changed in my life. I actually struggled even more. But that’s not what salvation is about. Jesus is not Santa Claus. The reason we obey God is because we love him, not because of what we are going to get from him. It’s not about getting rid of sin or becoming perfect all of a sudden. Having a relationship with God means that you gain so much more than you can imagine. When you have God in your life, He works on your heart and changes the things that you enjoy. The things you once thought were fun might not be as exciting or interesting to you when you discover the richness of knowing God. Or maybe they still will be. That’s between you and God. In other words, no person should ever come between you and God.
I won’t tell you what you should believe or how you should live your life, but I do want to emphasize the importance of knowing God. Not a religion or church or certain pastor but God, through His Son, Jesus Christ.
I had accepted Jesus into my heart and found a relationship with God, but I wasn’t necessarily happy. My music career still wasn’t taking off, but I felt different. I knew that I had God and that no matter what, I was going to be all right. Knowing this brought me immense joy and peace. And boy, did I need to believe that, because “hard times were coming!”