A Problem with Boxes
Many years ago I had a vision; I saw a large area and there were many boxes. I wondered what was in the boxes. Suddenly a hand came down from above and broke open one of the boxes. To my amazement a person was in the box. This person rushed around and put the box back together and got right back inside of it. The hand came down again and grabbed another box; the same thing happened. A person was in the boxand as soon as he could, he put the box back together and got back inside.
I said, “Lord what does this mean?” The Lord spoke and said, “They refuse to come out of their boxes.”
We have always had a problem with boxes; we want a box to live in and we want everyone else to have a box as well. Jesus Christ did not have a box and refused to be put in one, so they killed Him and put Him in a tomb. But even death and a tomb could not hold Him. Jesus Christ was not only a natural man, He was a spiritual man and He functioned as a spiritual man because the box could not hold Him. When you and I function as spiritual men, the box cannot hold us, either.
Paul was dealing with the same issue in the early church with the Corinthians. In 1 Corinthians 3:1-4, Paul wrote: And I brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual men, but as men of flesh, as to babes in Christ.
I gave you milk to drink, not sold food; for you were not yet able receive it, even now you are not yet able, for you are still fleshly. For since there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not fleshly, and are you not walking like mere men?
For when one says, “I am of Paul,” and another, “I am of Apollos are you not mere men?
We like to be labeled; the label is part of our box, and our box is a part of our defense system. It defines who we are and what our values are. My dad was a Catholic; I don’t believe he knew very much about Catholicism. Although he was a Democrat, his thinking was not liberal but very conservative; he actually thought more like a Republican.
I grew up as a Catholic; I still go to the Catholic Church and enjoy going, but I also go to other churches and enjoy them. I now find it hard to say I am a Catholic, Baptist or Pentecostal. Not that I am ashamed of my background; I am not. It is just that I have come out of my box and I am more than I used to be. This would make some folks uncomfortable and think I am a traitor. I am not. I have just increased and become more than what I was. The boxes are too small to hold me.
I used to think I was Republican because I was conservative; now I think differently, because in some areas I am liberal. I can no longer label myself Democrat or Republican; it is another box. They both have some good ideas and some bad ideas.
These boxes have bound up our country so much that nothing can get accomplished. I just prefer to be an American citizen. I just prefer to be a child of God. Labels have divided the church from the time of Paul and it is dividing our nation now.
I ask you a question: “Are you of Paul or Apollos?” Or have you come out of your box yet? If not, I encourage you to learn of Jesus, get filled with the Holy Spirit, become a spiritual person, and break out of your box. Then refuse to be boxed in again.