"Well, it's bigger than a breadbox.."

The last ten weeks that I spent with the Palisades Church in Birmingham, I submitted an article per week to be printed in the Sunday bulletin. This is one of those articles. In fact, I will be posting each of the articles....

 

When I was a child, I remember my mother and I used travel up to Maryland every holiday to visit our family. We would see my grandma, Grammy, and aunts, uncles, and cousins. They were some of the best times of the year. I always looked forward to going up there. The biggest and most exciting of these trips each year was of course Christmas. Christmas was different because not only did the entire family meet, but neighbors and close friends would also come and pack the house celebrating this joyous occasion of fellowship. I think that’s why I liked that trip the most. I remember one year, before the grueling 11 hour car ride, I talked to my Grammy on the phone and told her how excited I was to be coming to see her again. But what I really wanted to know was what she got me for Christmas. I was about 8 or 9, so sucking up was still in my arsenal and I was willing to use it in order to get the information I needed. Needless to say, it didn’t work. However, she did tell me, “It’s bigger than a breadbox.” And then we left. The entire drive to Maryland all I did was bug my mom about “What’s a breadbox mommy? How big is a breadbox mommy? Is it big? Do you actually put bread in it? What’s it look like?” I went on and on. I still to this day have no idea what a breadbox is. But aren’t there boxes for pretty much everything? When we move, we pack things in boxes. When we buy stuff at the store, most of it comes in boxes. When we click things on our computer screen, most of the things we click are boxes. Even when someone comes up with a profound idea we say they are thinking outside the box. Boxes are important because they store things, provide structure, and form boundaries so that things can’t escape. They come big or small, cubed or oblong. They enclose diamonds, and they keep my cereal fresh. But they cannot, and will not ever be able to form a boundary around our God.  It’s common for us to take God out of our box on Sunday mornings between the hours of 9:30 and 11:30. It’s common even during weddings and funerals to let God out of our box. How strange does this sound? It’s true. I know most all of us have a belief in God. But do we sometimes become our own god? We make our own decisions. We do what we think is right without first seeking God’s council and guidance. We walk into so many situations and after the fact remember God and ask Him to bless it. “Well, some things just aren’t a big deal and I’ve got it under control so I don’t see a need in seeking God in prayer about this situation.” When and where did we forget that God is the ruler and maker of all that exists? At What point did we forget that ‘it’s no longer I that live, but Christ who lives in me?’ (Gal 2:20) We sometimes let it slip our mind that God is the great I AM. You see we put limits on God. We take what we know, and apply it to our infinite, majestic, all powerful, glorious, sovereign, and holy God.  Our own knowledge and wisdom boxes God up and says “you can’t come past this boundary, you can’t cross this line.” Then God does something in our lives that is so outside the box that humbles us down to our knees before the great King. We can no longer limit His ability to guide us and bless us. The smallest part of God is so much larger than a box that can store the planets and stars of this universe. Have you been limiting God in your life? Do you realize the size and real true glory that sits on the throne of heaven? I don’t remember what it was I got that year for Christmas, if it was bigger than a breadbox. But I do know that God is. And that’s just big enough to save you and me from whatever hinders our relationship with Him.