What a wonderful world this is! We live in interesting times. Technology, and communication are laden with mind-boggling advancement. 

Think for a moment about shopping. Easy to do right now; “’tis the season…”  Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Giving Tuesday – they all conspire to separate us from our money. The gifts can now come straight to our door, having been ordered and purchased in our jammies from our beds. The box with the blue “swoosh” on it, courtesy of that consumer behemoth known as Amazon. Door cams nudge us to hasten out there so no one snatches that precious parcel. I admit that I am truly amazed by the whole thing. Especially that in most cases it’s next-day delivery.

In modern times, we hear about “thinking outside the box”. Don’t get stuck in the rut of narrow-mindedness, they say. Be creative, bold, and innovative, we are told. For me, it evokes the question, “what am I protecting in this box?” In the case of the Amazon box on my doorstep, it’s the presumably precious treasure for someone on the Christmas list. If it were scooped up by a “porch pirate” (because we don’t have a door cam), would our life be over? Of course not. I might kick or throw something in frustrated anger, but “the sun will come up tomorrow.”

What am I, what are we, protecting in the boxes of our preconceived notions? Contemplate this, and you will come to know that our story, our notion, is part and “parcel” (heh, heh) of a bigger story or box. Our tradition grounds us but doesn’t tie us up in twine or shipping tape. We ARE free to think outside the box because our security lies in God and not always having to be right or have the “right” theology. We can withstand correction, threats, even persecution because Christ declares it blessing and reckons it as righteousness for His name’s sake.

God is always bigger than the boxes we build for Him, even when we think they are necessary for US to protect. Unconditional love is just that because it is not reciprocal or transactional. The gift of Christ does not come in a box.

Pastor Art