Boxes

BOXES

Boxes can be useful. They help to keep things organized. They are good at preventing clutter. Presents often come in boxes.

Boxes can also be irritating or bad. Sometimes we open a box, and cannot fit the contents back into it afterwards. We’ve all heard the phrase "opening Pandora’s box."Many Christians today have tried to put God in a box. We think we can clearly define His nature. We think we can understand Him. We’ve (wrongly) given God attributes that are based on our limited understanding. The Creator of all is beyond our comprehension. "For now we see through a mirror, dimly..." Why do we assume that the Infinite can be categorized by the finite?

My family and I are now part of a Baptist church where "tradition" is revered, if not worshiped. We are at this church because this is where God has led us. He hasn’t given us the "ok" to leave, despite that we are not happy. Being in God’s will is not about happiness...and this is a difficult lesson to learn. God is not a genie in a bottle, of which we are the master. It doesn’t work that way. Service to the King is not full of "ifs." Either we are in His will, or we are not. Either we are serving Him, or we’re not. He will not be mocked.

In our current church, God has been put into a box of tradition. He is expected to respond and act in "traditionally accepted" ways. If something is proposed that falls outside of those "traditionally accepted" things, it is summarily rejected. There are no new ideas that are acceptable, unless they come from the headquarters of the SBC in Nashville and someone has written it into a program. Don’t question things...ever. Do what your parents did, and your grandparents, and their parents before them, and so on. Just go along, be part of the program. It was good enough for your parents’ generation, it should be good enough for you. Believe what you’re told from a pulpit because it’s easier than thinking for yourself.Tradition is not bad, in and of itself. My contention is that when tradition becomes something we hide behind, and more important than the work God has set before us, it couldn’t be more evil.When we were asked to help bring the church out of the 1960's (technologically speaking), we offered to do whatever we could. Once we started making suggestions, we were told (concerning worship services), "We don’t want them to become so produced that we inhibit the spontaneous nature of the Holy Spirit." We haven't suggested anything outrageous...simply ways to streamline things and have the services run like they were not just thrown together. Their's is just an excuse to keep things status quo. I haven’t seen a truly spontaneous movement of anyone, including the Holy Spirit, since we joined this church.

People are generally afraid of change and that’s why we like our boxes. They’re safe. We reject the idea of anything different. Rejecting change leads to stagnation. That always leads to complacency. Jesus told the church of Laodicea (Rev 3:15-16) "I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; I wish you were either cold or hot. Because you are lukewarm, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth." You see, it’s easier to put God in a box and try to limit what He can, and will do. What if, just for the sake of argument, God wanted us to reach the lost and dying world in which we live? If we choose to stay inside the box we’ve created for our churches, we will never reach anyone. That is why the church is now failing to effectively reach people with the Gospel. The church, as a whole, has failed to adapt. We are making great strides overseas, but our next-door neighbors are going to hell. We’ll send people to Africa, but not on the other side of the railroad tracks. We do not know how to meet people where they are any more. People today want to be part of a community, but the church (in general) will not accept "outsiders." At the same time, the church has become more of a country club; a place to network and commune with those in our same social status.

Basically, my point is this: can you see if there is a box around you? If so, does that box inhibit God’s movement in your life? Does it inhibit your effectiveness in reaching others for Christ? Personally, I’m trying to identify all of the boxes in my life and eliminate them. I don’t want to limit God, in my life or in anyone else’s.