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God in a pretty little box. What will it purchase for us if we put our God in a box? My contention is: A frickin' crap-ton of misery and suffering.

I have had a hell of a time the past year. And I'm not just saying that so that I can shock you with [gasp] unclean syntax. I really mean it. I lost my grampa, my business, 90% of the crap I was hauling around with a "mine" label on it; and possibly worst of all, the relationship I have with my dad has a massive barrier right down its centerline between me and him, for reasons I will not detail here. I will say that my dad made a lot of decisions for which many people paid the price over many years, and all of it came due between us last year. It is so massive that I simply cannot bear the man's presence until time goes by and we can sit and talk it out with as much love as possible. I mention it at the top of the page because I made huge gains toward peace and forgiveness with my dad this week. Having said that I must also say that forgiveness is a one-way street for individuals to work out in reverence for God while reconciliation is a two way street on which individuals walk together. It's the reconciliation that will take the most time.

I think one of the great ironies of life is that we see best when we see others. We are most able to see the faults in those with whom we have relationship-which makes strong evidence for how mankind was made for relationship-we need each other if we're going to go somewhere besides where we've already been taken. The other side of this illustration is that we really don't see ourselves well at all unless God grants us those legendary moments of clarity, whether they are on the mountaintop or in the cellars of despair. So brace yourself. I'd like to ask you a question.

Is your God in a pretty little box?

There are so many ways to go with this, in keeping with our nice example on points of view. It could be said that the honest man who has seen the depths of his heart would say, "yes," because he knows more fully the fruits of his pet paradigms. Yet the honest man who has seen will most likely also be moved beyond this realization to action and remove his God from the box, allowing Him to be Himself and finally answering, "no". It could also be said that the blind man who cannot see how he has boxed his God would also say, "no," in ignorance. It is also true that the same man, suddenly seeing his error, would say, "yes," while most likely going on to stubbornly remain is his squalor,

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