TRBF - Pastor's Page

How big is your box?

[ Pastor Paul with a wrapped box ] We all have boxes. We put boundaries around our lives, saying "This may come in, that cannot." Some have bigger boxes than others. Some live in little boxes where nothing can get at them; they are safe, but their lives are not noteworthy. Others live in boxes with torn walls; they are free to come and go, but so are intruders and undesirable elements.

We all want some measure of control of our lives and so we construct our boxes. A box is not a bad thing as long as we know it's a box. But when we mistake our box for the complete, whole picture, then we end up sacrificing experience, reward and challenge for predictability. Personally, I think that's a bad trade.

Our churches can be boxes, and they can also reinforce our personal boxes. One box might be, "It's okay to live the way you do; God only wants you to be self-fulfilled." That's not a safe box to be in. Another box I'm thinking of in particular is this: "all I want for my Christian walk is a nice Sunday service which doesn't rattle my cage or ruffle my feathers."

Jesus was a good box crusher. Everybody had a box for what the Messiah should be; He undid those expectations. His contemporaries had boxes for who was acceptable company: tax collectors and prostitutes did not make the list, but He was friends with them anyway. Certainly, Samaritan women were not the kind to hang around, but He became friends with one of them too.

The disciple Peter had a box: he didn't want to be caught with gentiles. Then God gave him a vision and commanded him to go visit a Roman centurion, an officer in the occupying army! So Peter cut a hole in his box and went.

What is your box? I think many Christians live defeated lives because they refuse to look, think and step outside of their box. I once suggested to some people that we go to the Philippines to help work on a Bible college there. I might as well have asked them to move to the moon! But for people of God's kingdom, this would not be such a strange thing, because the kingdom of God is one wonderful, mysterious and giant box with plenty of room to roam.

So how big is your box?

		Pastor's Page Pastor Paul's Thoughts
		How big is your box? We all have boxes. We put boundaries around our lives, saying "This may come in, that cannot." Some have bigger boxes than others. Some live in little boxes where nothing can get at them; they are safe, but their lives are not noteworthy. Others live in boxes with torn walls; they are free to come and go, but so are intruders and undesirable elements. We all want some measure of control of our lives and so we construct our boxes. A box is not a bad thing as long as we know it's a box. But when we mistake our box for the complete, whole picture, then we end up sacrificing experience, reward and challenge for predictability. Personally, I think that's a bad trade. Our churches can be boxes, and they can also reinforce our personal boxes. One box might be, "It's okay to live the way you do; God only wants you to be self-fulfilled." That's not a safe box to be in. Another box I'm thinking of in particular is this: "all I want for my Christian walk is a nice Sunday service which doesn't rattle my cage or ruffle my feathers." Jesus was a good box crusher. Everybody had a box for what the Messiah should be; He undid those expectations. His contemporaries had boxes for who was acceptable company: tax collectors and prostitutes did not make the list, but He was friends with them anyway. Certainly, Samaritan women were not the kind to hang around, but He became friends with one of them too. The disciple Peter had a box: he didn't want to be caught with gentiles. Then God gave him a vision and commanded him to go visit a Roman centurion, an officer in the occupying army! So Peter cut a hole in his box and went. What is your box? I think many Christians live defeated lives because they refuse to look, think and step outside of their box. I once suggested to some people that we go to the Philippines to help work on a Bible college there. I might as well have asked them to move to the moon! But for people of God's kingdom, this would not be such a strange thing, because the kingdom of God is one wonderful, mysterious and giant box with plenty of room to roam. So how big is your box?