Don't bury the God in you - let Him out of the box and into your in-box

Don’t bury the God in you – let Him out of the box and into your in-box

       It’s interesting how the times we live in shape us are we really are. Had I lived 200 years ago (no phone, internet, cable, cars), my relationship with others, and God, would be different. We experience who we really are, often by the times we were born into, and the seasons of our lives. If we doubt this, consider God could have plopped you down from space into a covered wagon in Daniel Boone days, or you could have been on a pirate ship crossing the Caribbean. But you did not. You were born “for such a time as this”. This evening at Shabbat, the woman sharing the harmony (parashot or portions section) shared a bit about one of her favorite writers, Oswald Chambers. There are many such ‘fathers’ of the faith, and they have a lot of wisdom to impart. But I couldn’t help but think as I listened, how would Oswald have looked at life had he had trains and planes and internet and blogs and cell phones at his disposal for communiqué? Even more, we know from accounts of the man, Chambers was said to be so humble he did not think it worthy (or perhaps his personal memos to God were too personal, or he thought it prideful to share them with the world, who knows), but his wife saved his writings, and now the world is blessed because of it. I know of few people anymore who aren’t ‘on-line’ and how many pastors or rabbi’s prepare a message without a IPad or PC. I mean, we can live without all these devises, we certainly did at one time. But how much more accessible are we to each other, and to information, and relationships, because of it. I for one, know that for many years, I resisted being ‘on-line’ cause I thought it meant more work, more necessity to reply to everyone, everywhere who emailed me, asked me a question, or needed something. Little did I know what an invaluable tool these devices could be, provided we know when to put the lid on it, and cap it. Everything has a boiling point and place where you need to say, I go this far, and no more. For me, when the in-box is full at page three, I unplug, pet the cat, grab a latte, and say I’m done for now.   So what does this have to do with God, Buried Treasure, and letting God out of His box and into your in-box: everything!

    As we know we are all created in God’s image, unique, no two people alike, we can imagine we will never know the fullness of His glory, how could it be known? We can experience Him, we can love Him, and we can recognize Him in ourselves and others, but we can’t put God in a box in our little pocket. How can you fit the wind in your sleeve? The God in Oswald Chambers, John Wesley, John the Baptist, Billy Graham, to name a few, is awesome. Look at how God has used them in this world for His purposes. And we are to give credit where credit is due, God wants us to see Him in others. He is foremost a God of relationship and wonder. Yet, to contrast, I see God in the struggling poet who is eeeking out a living working on the docks at the river, although everyone things he has lost his marbles because he has turned down the money and benefits of security, his soul burns with truths that will not let him rest. That ‘holy unrest’ is God. I see God in the young actors on a Broadway stage, though it appears they want the more exciting perks of life, many are hungry for a truth and understanding within themselves they don’t understand. That is why they crave the arts: they long for things only sages think on. I see God in the beaten down mom and dad who are struggling to figure out how to put food on the table, and are all too human to take time to cultivate their innate divinity: they don’t have time for fancy words and sermons, they work 12 hours a day, they want a cold beer and a warm heart at the end of a day. This doesn’t make them evil; it makes them human. They just want to unwind and be with their family and friends. Just as too much carnality and flesh can corrupt a pure transcendent work of the spirit of grace, so too, can a spirit of religion and legalism snuff the life out of grace.

   I think many more would run to enter the Kingdom of God if we could be more like our Messiah who told Zacchaeus (Luke 19:1-10) to get out of that tree, I'm coming to your place for dinner. Jesus became a friend to sinners, yet he never sinned. I know, I know. None of us are there yet. None of us are nor will ever be (in this life and in this body) that perfected or beyond being changed (for the worse) into what we have left behind. But that is no reason not to be willing to get gut level real with people and meet them in their city, in their neighborhood, on their terms, where they live, so we can show them where we live: in a Kingdom not made with human hands. The reason that the harvest is not yet full is that many have not seen how beautiful, how fair and how lovely our King really is (Song of Solomon 5:10).  There has been a linear and generational dis-connect here: for 2,000 years we have somehow failed to convey the glorious beauty of this King. God could use robots or angels to preach the angels: but He prefers dust and ashes: you and me. Oh God help us all to show this world how lovely you really are.

  I think had I been born in a different time I would have considered a rebel, or been labeled with some adjective which branded me different or not one to fit in with the crowd. The status quo of conventional religiosity never did fit me well, though I learned how to fit in when I had to. I see God buried in real people, with real problems, real dreams, real lives, real everything. Not everyone has a perfect life, living in the suburbs, same job since 22, married to the high school sweetheart, with 2 kids and a SUV in the driveway. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. But God is so much bigger than that. He is a real God who loves real people with real lives and real dilemmas. God is a God of every shape, size and color life you can imagine. Don’t for goodness sake, bury who you are, to fit into something that will never satisfy your soul. Many poets, prophets, engineers, inventors, teachers, preachers are buried in graves across the world whose words we will never hear, whose words will never change us, because they buried their talents to acquiesce to the culture of the day, or the mindset of the times. Yes, it is good to know the times in which you live, but more importantly, we must live our lives in the time we are put into. Ask God, He will show you who you are: from the inside out. I think we serve and honor God best when we allow Him to show up in us, and refuse to bury what the Spirit of God put in us. Don’t expect everyone to understand. How can someone else know what only God knows?  Let it be enough that your heavenly Father understands. No one is served in humanity by false humility or a blatant pride: true humility is knowing who you are in Christ and being what God made you to be. It is what Christ said is the greatest commandment “Love you neighbor as yourself”. You can’t love others unless you let yourself be loved by God. You can’t give away what you don’t have, and you can’t love others until you really see what God put inside of you. God wants to come out of your eyes and hands and mouth to others: don’t box God in when He wants to live – from the inside out. The Kingdom of God is within.