Getting Out of My Box (es)

For those of you who don’t know, the Miller’s have moved into a new home location. I hate moving! However, I am happy to say, “It is finished.” These were the last words of Jesus during his crucifixion, and yes, moving is an excruciatingly painful experience. I am sure it is not as bad as dying on a cross, but probably close.

For one straight week, there was nothing fun about lifting heavy awkward boxes and furniture through narrow spaces with a stressed out Puerto Rican lady (my wife Cindy) taking out all of her moving frustrations on me in two different languages. For all those who have ever moved with a family of five or more, I am sure you understand what I am talking about. All I can say after moving is, “Thank God we don’t take any of our stuff with us to heaven.”

As I began the process of unpacking, I found myself thinking about how so many people stay stuck in their religious boxes. Instead of having a vibrant living relationship with God, so many people reduce God down to a bunch of “thou shall not’s”. To these people, God is a belief system instead of an omnipotent Spirit who has revealed Himself to the world through his Son Jesus Christ. The fact that God sent his Son in flesh and blood is very important because this means we can now know him personally by being filled with His Spirit.

How do we keep from putting our religion into a box? Hebrews 12:1b says, “Let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.” I would love to share with you the new revelation I received while unpacking my boxes.

First, you have to be willing to go through the process of change. If you are going to walk with a living God, you have to be willing to go where he is leading you. This could mean leaving a certain sinful lifestyle, cutting out unproductive or distracting activities in your life, changing current routines and habits, attending a new Spirit-filled church, finding a different peer/support group, etc. It is impossible to be close to God and demand He stay in your box of preferences or conveniences.

Second, you have to be willing to examine everything in your life and throw out the unnecessary baggage. The good thing about moving is that is forces you to go through all of your stuff. How in the world do we collect so much junk? Cindy and I threw away or gave away boxes and boxes of stuff and a collection of furniture. They were simply things in our life we did not need. If you want to have a living relationship with God, you have to be willing to examine your life and throw out all the rubbish that is hindering you from being close to Him.

Lastly, you need to persevere in your new environment once you have unpacked your box (es). Change always makes us feel uncomfortable because we are going into something new and unfamiliar. However, if God is leading us into something new, we can be confident that it will ultimately be better for us. God knows this even before we make the move, it just takes time for us to adjust emotionally, physically, socially and mentally.

Cindy and I know that God led us to move and now that we have settled and unpacked all of our boxes, we are thanking God for the new things he is doing in our lives. To get to this moment was incredibly inconvenient, but it was well worth it.

Remember, as God begins to shout from the box you put him in by nudging you into something new, wherever he is leading you and whatever He is changing in you will end up being a blessing in your life.

And, don’t worry; your wife will eventually apologize for wanting (or trying) to kill you during the process of change.