A Box Called God

All the circumcised believers who came with Peter were amazed, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also. (Acts 10:45)

God keeps breaking out of the boxes that I try to put Him in. Without realizing it, I had set many limits on what God could do in my life. When Caleb was diagnosed as being affected by Down’s syndrome, I didn’t believe it because, in my definition of God’s love, it wasn’t something God would do in our family. As another example, when we first realized God might be leading us to be open to having 10 or 20 children, it wasn’t reasonable. The idea was outside the box we had constructed for our life and what we would allow God to do in it.

There are many people who, by their life and the fruit of their life, proclaim, “Jesus is Lord”. Yet, they have not even come close to following the particular formula for salvation that I’ve been taught. In this verse, the circumcised believers were amazed because God had just blown up their definition of who could receive the Holy Spirit. Rather than embracing their box, they embraced a bigger God, "Surely no one can refuse the water for these to be baptized who have received the Holy Spirit just as we did, can he?"

Who among us is not constantly trying to define the limits of God’s love, action and power? Some of us get upset if the order of the worship service is modified, the music changes style, or the prayer is not worded “correctly”. Others have limits on what God can do in their personal lives. How many of us have limits beyond which God can not go or we will become bitter and leave our fellowship or maybe give up our faith? It was difficult for the Jewish believers to accept that Gentiles and even a Roman soldier could be saved. What limits do we set up for those who can be defined as “brother in Christ”? God wants to break out of our boxes because they limit our faith and therefore limit His power in our lives and churches. After all, no matter how nicely it’s wrapped and decorated, we don’t actually want to worship and serve a box even if it is labeled "God’s Way" or even “God”.

Project:
-- Let’s offer ourselves to the One True God who created all things and loves us more than we dream or imagine.
-- Let’s ask Him to reveal where we have set false boundaries on His power, grace, and love.