| The Grapevine Number 109 August 14, 2005 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed rightly dividing the word of truth. II Timothy 2:15 Thinking Outside the Box by Jack Northart Someone once said that if you want to improve your life, start by changing and developing yourself by one percent per week. At the end of one year, you will have improved your life by 52%. That is a big change for most people. And not only will you benefit from your new self, but you have given yourself an opportunity to help others with these new skills and abilities. Perhaps you decide to improve by reading a new book, or taking a new class, or joining a new organization, or club, or participating in a seminar to improve your life. Maybe it is learning a new skill, or learning how to draw or paint. It might be dedicating yourself to learning how to teach, or instruct others on how to improve their lives. Whatever the case may be, it generally doesn't take loads of commitment to improve yourself by one percent per week. What is seemingly the hardest part about improving yourself is getting started on this journey. The reason for this is usually because people will tend to look at their situation in life and accept that as being what it is, rather than what it could become. For example, let's say you have a job working as a mechanic. Mechanics tend to have a finite limit to their income in their particular occupation. As a mechanic, you make a certain income each year and so you would plan to live in a home where a mechanic could afford to live; drive a car that a mechanic could afford to drive, and live within the means of a mechanic's wages. Right? You have identified who you are and what you can do in this life by your occupation, and nothing else. To stop and think in terms of improving your life would have to be based on whether it would be something that a mechanic should be doing. This type of thinking could be classified as "thinking inside the box." And it would be a very small box at that. Let's see what God's Word says about what a mechanic should do in this life. Ephesians 3:20 Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us. Wait a second, this verse doesn't say anything about God promising a mechanic something different or special more or less than anybody else. Who is this verse talking to? It is talking to the saints and the faithful in Christ Jesus, as stated in Chapter One of Ephesians. If it is a believer that happens to be a mechanic, or accountant, or doctor, or librarian, or whatever, then it is written to them. The occupation is not what identifies who we are, but rather what God has made us to be. Ephesians 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ. God blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ. ALL spiritual blessings? Sounds too good to be true. But it is true, regardless of what our occupation or station in life, we are blessed with ALL spiritual blessings. So how can I improve myself as a mechanic, or whatever my occupation may be? I could start with this verse. To see that I don't have to earn some elite status with God that is above and beyond what this verse promises can really change and improve my life! I don't have to go through some spiritual gauntlet to change my life, because God has already changed it. Why don't I feel any differently? Why don't I see my life as being blessed with all spiritual blessings? Because I am still looking at my life as a mechanic. I am not looking outside of that box that I have developed for myself. I am fixed on what I have set up as my identification in life and how others look at me. I am what I think of myself. To see what God has really done for me would mean a radical change for me. What should we do to get out of this box? Philippians 3:13,14 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. If I have identified myself by what my job is, or what I do in life, then I need to forget about that way of silly thinking and refocus my attention. My identification comes from God. I John 3:1 Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. So what if my occupation is a mechanic, or nurse, or electrician? So what! It is simply a job that I do, but it does not make me who I really am. God has made us to be His children and that is my true identification. I am now entitled to all of the rights, privileges, and the authority that has been given to me by my Heavenly Father. He went to a lot of trouble to get us what we have in Christ. It didn't come without someone paying the price. Jesus Christ put up the ransom for us and paid the complete penalty for our sin. He paid for it with his own life. He paid for our grief and our suffering already. Why would we still want to take on all these negatives and live some mediocre life? It is because we think inside the box of false identification. John 10:10 The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. To live a life that is more abundant is a promise that was made by Jesus Christ, himself. God's abundance is huge, in fact, "...exceeding abundantly above all that we could ask or think." If we have trouble just barely getting by, or eking out a meaningless existence because of the limitations that we think God has placed on us, then it is time we started thinking outside that box. Think things that are higher by seeing our true, real selves as God sees us; as His heirs of His inheritance. Ephesians 1:11 In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will. When a person wins the lottery, it is many times difficult for that person to handle their newfound wealth with any degree of skill. But when God gave us His inheritance, He also shows us how to enjoy it. Colossians 1:12 Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light. The Amplified Bible translates this verse as: "Giving thanks to the Father, Who has qualified and made us fit to share the portion which is the inheritance of the saints (God's holy people) in the Light." God qualified and made us fit to enjoy the inheritance that He has given us in this wonderful life. We have not only hit the jackpot, but it came with an owner's manual on how to use it!God's riches are so far beyond what most people consider abundant, that they just give up on trying to reap the benefits of it all. It is time to think outside our box, and gaze upon the wonder and beauty of a life that God gave to us. A life that is truly more abundant. As we do this, life will improve beyond anything we have ever known before. Return to main page |