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!