John 16:2-3 (Amplified Bible)
2They will put you out of (expel you from) the synagogues; but an hour is coming when whoever kills you will think and claim that he has offered service to God.
3And they will do this because they have not known the Father or Me.
I have heard people call me things that are so far away from my character and personality it was almost funny to hear, them attach those particular characteristics to me. I have also heard people say things that made me cry at the thought that they could think so little of me, to paint me into such a small and stagnant place. I have listened to people berate and belittle others based upon their own selfishness or their own insecurities. As I meditated today on some events in my life where I had thought something specific about someone I love and treasure, only to find out it was furthest from the truth and they like I had been, had become a victim of labeling. I began to feel myself slip into a place of feeling guilty and that I had done a disservice to them. As I began to pray I could could hear God speak into my spirit and say, it is easy to miss something you did not know. It was easy to because you did not see. At that moment I felt that there was a huge lesson in these incident. How many times had we boxed God in because we did not know Him in the way that we should have or found it hard to see beyond the natural set of events because had placed the same limitations on God that we do on each other and on ourselves?
We find ourselves frightened by what we do not know or understand. But instead of taking the time to gain the understanding and knowledge it would take to understand the person, situation or event, we wrap these things into a nice neat package that we can handle or that we can maneuver and manipulate to our liking. We do God the same way. Because God's ways and thoughts are so far above ours we have a tendency to pull Him down and package him up to our level of understanding just like we do people. We should not do that with people, but we definitively should not do that with God. I believe that we do not understand that we stunt the potential for growth, maturity and progression, when we label people and say that is all that they can be, or that they are incapable of change. We do the same thing with God, when we lack the fortitude and strength to yield to Him and to have faith enough to see Him outside of human means and standards, we limit God's capability in our lives. It is not that He is not able , but we tie His hands and in some cases His feet too, by saying He can but not for me, or by believing for someone else , but not for ourselves.
If only we can begin to remember that God is no respecter of persons. What He has done for one He surely can do for us. God wants to free us in mind body and spirit , if we would only let Him. God is limitless and is able to do exceedingly, abundantly, above all that we ask or think. Just like we do not like it when people limit us and box us in, we should be careful not to do the same to them and especially not to God, for He is so much bigger and so much more capable than we could ever think to imagine. Let's take Him out of the box and and really get to know who He is and "give Him Free!"
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