Why Are There So Many Rules in Christianity?

Note: This post is part of a series about building a personal relationship with God by reading the parables of Jesus. You can browse the entire series here. 

Sometimes our experience of Christianity can feel like a lot of rule-following.

Some of us respond to this by throwing ourselves into mastering these rules. We learn the “strategies” of Christianity, the things we have to do to get ahead easier or win the approval of God or other people.

Others of us might feel frustrated and defeated by Christianity because we feel like we’re constantly failing at the things we are supposed to do. When we feel this way, we’ll eventually want to just walk away. 

Or, we might go back and forth between the two, trying to master the rules and then crashing in frustration because being perfect is impossible. 

The subject of today’s Mini Quiet Time story was caught in just such a dilemma. This man, often referred to as the Rich Young Ruler, had a conversation with Jesus that can teach us how to break free from a frustrating, unsatisfying, and rule-dominated experience of Christianity to find a real relationship with God.