It's going to happen that in our times, as in all times, there will be those who have not recognized the creator nor God's plan for salvation, nor God's economy. They live in it, they are blessed by it, they benefit from it, but they do not participate in recognizing it. I specifically want to speak to those who have this situation and might be wondering what might be the best way to deal with it.
First of all, Christianity is and was always meant to be a personal relationship with God. With that comes the many accoutrements, sacraments, faith, the indwelling Holy Spirit and spiritual understanding. This was always meant to be for you personally. All of this was/is a gift from God, not for your many years of service, your fancy prayers, your grand behavior, your community service, your faithful tithing or any other thing that you have said or done. It was a gift from God to you because God created you. You deserve all that God has for you because God has it for you and has nothing to do with your anything. You have not earned one notch in your spiritual belt for anything you have ever said or done. You are loved by God because of who God is, not because of who you are.
Getting this straight helps when trying to navigate through the confusing array of religious experiences/denominations/faiths. Once you are fully aware that any and all religious experience was and is for the benefit of you personally getting closer to God, then you can make full use of your personal preference for religious expression, your denomination or faith. Without the personal experience, the religious experience is superficial, powerless, empty, void of efficacy, non-existent in the realm of God's economy.
Agnosticism, atheism and secular humanism are religious experiences void of a relationship with God. These groups try to pawn themselves off as non-religious, but they are most religious in every way. If you can personally make the distinction of having a personal relationship with God apart from or in correlation with your denominational religious experience you can get to know God better, but if your denominational religious experience is in lieu of a personal experience with God you can only get to know your religion better. You might never get to know God at all.
Don't be afraid to talk to your pastor about this. More than likely he or she will agree and urge you to seek the face of God and still participate in your denomination/church. You might be surprised to find that many pastors are terribly frustrated with this concept because their denomination has morphed over the years and the need for personal relationship has been downplayed, because that's what the people wanted. Still today many pastors want to teach others about this most wonderful and personal relationship, but their denomination/polity/dogma still represents the dark ages.
In the end you are responsible to make this happen in your life. Get to know God better because you want to. You might be surprised to find just how many people are starving for some one on one time with the creator. It is available and free and reserved for those who can break through the barriers set by those before them.
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