Maybe It's Not About the Religion Afterall

 What does it mean for me to "follow Jesus" for real? 

Does it mean membership in a particular denomination?  An adherence to the official teachings of that denomination?  Participation in the rites and rituals of that denomination?

Does it mean holding fast to a certain creed that sums up what all followers of Jesus are supposedly supposed to believe?  Does it mean idolizing the Bible as the single most important (or even only?!) source of God's communication with me? Does it mean either being literate and knowledgeable enough to make sense of what I read therein, or acquiescing my ability to interpret Scripture to someone else, like a church authority figure in a particular denomination?

Or does it mean trying to learn as much as I can about the person of Jesus and then trying best I can to model my life on His example and teachings?  Does it mean then that I trust the Holy Spirit to lead me to the interpretation that is most relevant for me at a particular point in time? 

Is following Jesus a nuanced endeavor?  Or a clear-cut path?  Is it going to look similar for all followers of Jesus, or will it differ wildly in some (maybe even most) cases?

Have I been assuming others know better than me what God wants from me?  Have I been so attached to external validation that I cannot find the spiritual freedom that is my birthright as a child of God?  I can follow Jesus WITHIN the denomination that speaks to me for other reasons.  Or I can follow Jesus in a DIFFERENT denomination that perhaps may someday better resonate with me.  Or I can follow Jesus OUTSIDE of any denomination at all.  

What if the whole world were my church denomination?  What if all of humanity were my fellowship team?  What if human and civil rights were my creed?  What if nature were my sanctuary? What if my prayers, whatever they are, however they manifest, whenever they bubble up to the surface, were just what God wants to hear from me at that moment?  What if God has been telling me all along that GOD DOES NOT NEED RELIGION?!  And if it isn't God's requirement, can anything religion says be a requirement of me just because that's what it says?  No!  

I will make mistakes as I try to discern what God wants from me and for me.  So has everyone else, Church Fathers and Mothers included, theologians and clergy included, saints and skeptics included.  Why should I succumb to their mistakes instead of making my own and through these growing closer to God?