God In A Box

"Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written."
John 21:25

Having spent the better part of my life as a fundamentalist, I am all too familiar with the rigidity of the doctrinal orthodoxy related to this particular brand of Christianity. Somewhere along the way, we concluded that everything we need to know about God (and life) was conveniently contained between the pages of Genesis 1 and Revelation 22. If it wasn't in the Bible, it wasn't true or worth discussing.

This line of thinking places God in a very small box. Not only does it confine Him to a specific collection of ancient texts, but it ignores the fact that those texts are merely snapshots of the intersection of divinity and humanity. Furthermore, they are only concerned with God's interactions with a very small subset of humanity, and only those interactions which the authors felt were worth recording.

I find it rather audacious to think that everything we can know about God - His character, His power, His infinite wisdom and love - can be contained within the pages of 66 books. Even John admitted in his gospel that there was no way to record everything that Jesus did in his short time on this earth. How much more so all the vast works of God throughout the ages?

When we limit God to what we know about him as recorded in the Bible, we strip Him of the ability to do amazing new things in our lives and in the lives of those around us. We tend to think that God's story ended with Revelation 22, and there was nothing left to say about who God is and how He wants to relate to His creation. Nothing could be further from the truth. God's story is still being written every day in the hearts and minds of His followers. The official canon of scripture may have been closed centuries ago, but God continues to reveal Himself to us in new and astounding ways, if we allow Him.

We must be careful to never think that God can't do this or that, simply because there is no precedent for it in Scripture. God is unlimited in His creativity and imagination. If he could create all of the plants and animals and minerals and stars and planets and galaxies, and things we don't yet even know about, who is to say that He doesn't have new ways of healing and restoring and blessing His people?

It's time we let God out of the tiny little box that we've created for Him called "the Holy Bible". I have come to a place in my spiritual journey where I am no longer content to think that everything I need to know about who God is and what He can do is contained within these pages. My God is bigger than that, and I marvel every time He reveals some new aspect of Himself to me.

Jesus told His disciples that we can only truly enter into the kingdom of God if we approach it as little children. Children have an innate ability to see the world around them with awe and fascination, free from the jaded cynicism that comes with adulthood. I want to foster that "gee whiz" mindset in my life, always waiting to see what new and amazing thing God wants to do in me and through me.

How about you? Is your God stuck in a box, or free to work wonderful new things in your life?

Have a blessed week!

Pastor David