Tired of boxes?

I was listening to this great song by Brit Nicole "Ready or Not" that talks about letting our light shine. She says "you want to fit it in your box" but instead she is going to show you where the light comes from because "this is who I am and I won't hide it".

Lecrea adds to the song by saying the light is "everything I am, it's the source of my hope and the reason why I stand". This idea is extremely biblical, in stating that the our light is from God, who is our identity and that the light is meant to shine. Jesus says in Luke 8 that a lamp is meant to be on a lamp stand for all to see. In John 8 Jesus calls Himself the light of the world and in Matthew 5 calls the disciples the light of the world, with the purpose of bringing glory to the Father through their good works.

This has me thinking a lot about identity. People can be identified by their tax bracket, their title at work, their political affiliation or other popular categories. These divisions allow us to identify ourselves with characteristics, behaviors, attitudes and actions. They can also label people to cause stereotypes and bias - like poor, disabled, or racial or religious slurs.

They can become very personal too - aspects of our lives that place us in boxes and become defining characteristics if we let them. My son has Aspergers. My grandmother has cancer. These are boxes that bring immediate associations in people's minds about what life means for them. If we let ourselves, we can become confined by these labels and let them put us in a box. Worse yet, we can start finding safety in our boxes, because they feel familiar or we feel accepted in the box.

God is very specific on our identity. He has a name for us too - we are His. His love, His children, His people. Scripture describes us so many ways, showing God's love, mercy and desire that we would be identified as His. His light cannot be confined to a box as it is part of His character, infinite, eternal and unchangeable.

The Pharisee's were all about boxes too. In Matthew, Jesus calls them hypocrites, white washed tombs, clean and righteous looking but full of death, sin and decay (Matt 23). How often does our desire to fit in or be liked or not make waves do we put ourselves into the box God never intended. Or how about our past, our insecurities or our doubt? Do we let the lies in our heads box us in?

Jesus says to us "In the world you will have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world". (John 16:33) Oh our gracious Savior! He knows the world is hard and He knows our need for courage. He doesn't pretend everything will be easy or that we will be loved by the world. He says in John 17 that the world will hate us. He knows, better than we do, just how great our challenge will be, but He sweetly says to be of good courage. He is the hope.

If we have managed to hide our light and have succumbed to our fear, or past or pain, then we have forgotten who we are. There is no box big enough to contain the love that lives in you through Jesus Christ. Show the world where the light comes from!

Redemption and other gifts I've rejected

For the Precepts course I am teaching this summer, we are on the last week of study, chapters 25-27. In chapter 25, we come to one of the most amazing ideas I think God has ever tried to give His people. A year of jubilee. This celebration, every 50 years was meant to act like a "reset" button on people's lives. In addition to giving the land a rest and enjoying the bountiful provision of God, people returned to the land of their inheritance, even if their fathers/brothers/etc had squandered or lost rights through bad decisions leading to difficult financial circumstances. Jubilee, the land revert back to the owners God had chosen and people had a fresh start.

While this idea alone (which historically was never practiced as God intended) is radical and amazing, God goes further. He brings in the idea of redemption. People who have gotten to such a bad place that the land is gone or they've sold themselves as hired hands and slaves now had a way to be redeemed. A family member could buy them back - redeem them. Or they could buy themselves back. The Jubilee reset the order of the nation to what God's plan had been. Freedom for His people in the land He had given them, with the blessing of an inheritance. God is providing for His people - knowing that things will happen in this fallen world that undo His extension of grace - so He creates a way to restore order.

Now, as 21st century people, when we hear the word "redeemed" in the church, we immediately think of Christ and His work on the cross. We are told all throughout the New Testament that Jesus redeemed us through His blood. (See Galatians 3:13, 4:5; Titus 2:14; 1 Peter 1:18; Revelation 5:9) Salvation, is acknowledgement of our inability to be right with God and relying on Christ's sacrifice alone. Redemption, is an acknowledgement of our spiritual poverty and the acceptance of Christ's payment on our behalf. He is our kinsman who paid the price we cannot afford to bring us back to the order God intended for us all.

But we don't like free gifts. We don't like admitting our need or poverty. Our pride causes us to keep trying to earn our salvation. When we fail to live in God's grace and instead try to work for our salvation, we deny His work on the cross, reject His prefect provision and say "I will do it myself."We, in our poverty, put the weight of our debt back on our shoulders when we reject His payment on our behalf.

Redemption, to our proud and hardened hearts, is so difficult to accept. We have to admit our failure, our poverty and our inability to provide for ourselves. People can stop here actually, and live a devestated life of wallowing in sin and rejection. They can boast in their weakness and reject assistance, feeding on anger and resentment and spite.
Our kids, just lately introduced to Star Wars, have recently heard the famous line "your hate has made you powerful", for the first time. Darth Vador tries to convince Luke that the hate and anger he feels (and the adrenaline associated with it) are good because of the power it gave him. Maybe he was stronger than he would have been without the rage and emotion coursing through his veins. But that still means we are relying on our own strength.
As believers, we aren't called be strong (good or bad) on our own. None of the scriptures ever put the weight of success on us. Rather, we see "but the fruit of the spirit are love, joy, peace, patience..." (Gal 5:22-23). "May the God of hope fill you with joy and peace..." (Romans 5:13) "But He said to me, My grace is sufficient..."(2 Cor 12:9).
We are called to rely on Him, our Redeemer, our Savior and our God. We are called to accept our emptiness while being filled with His Spirit. We aren't called to be strong nor or we expected to stay weak. We are called to be His.

Turn Your eyes upon Jesus. Look full in His wonderful face. And the things of earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of His glory and grace.