God in a Box
For too long the church and many of its religious folk have tried to put God in a box. They wanted God to be in control and yet they wanted to manage God. To paraphrase George Bernard Shaw, “In the beginning God created us in God’s image and ever since humanity has been trying to create God in ours”. They wanted God to do what they wanted God to do and so the church created rules and regulations by which God would rule. It was the way the church controlled the people -- by saying, “We know exactly who God is and so you have to do what we say or God will smite you.” They put God in a box to make God manageable and thus make the people manageable. God is far too large for any box; we have no control over God. One of the gifts of humanity is the ability to live in an intimate relationship with God but we do not understand God completely. God is large enough to individually tailor a relationship with each human being. There are no rules or regulations or dogma that fits every situation for every person. We are unique and by that nature so is our relationship with God. The church "without a box" can help open the door for you to relate to God. However, we cannot tell you exactly what that relationship will look like. We are neither in control of God or in God’s relationship with you. God is love and God loves you and God wants to be in relationship with you but what that relationship looks like will be dependent upon you and God. The freedom to engage in this type of open thinking is why I am a pastor at First Christian Church in Carrollton, Texas, a part of the Disciples of Christ Denomination.
