God in a box

God gave Israel the Temple and Judaism as method of relating to Him. As long as their hearts were right, He honored the system (2Ch 7:15-20). However, if they abandoned their relationship with the living God, the system became disposable (Isa 1:10-17). The underlying principles were more important than the symbols God ordained to illustrate them. The same is true for your system of worship. As long as your “religion” helps you maintain a genuine relationship with the real God it is helpful. But the minute you begin to value the ritual more than the relationship your system becomes disposable. God has ordained the Church, but if our hearts stray our candlestick will be removed (Rev 2:5). Do you worship your system or the Spirit (Joh 4:24)?