A man fits everything into boxes.

When it’s out of the box, it has his full attention, but when he puts it back in, it’s out of sight and out of mind. Women hate that, but it seems to be an inherent male characteristic.

Boxes provide a means to define, separate and categorize, store and protect and, eventually, locate and make use of whatever seems conducive to living.

But is it always wise to think outside of them?

That might depend on who you ask. Artists and advertising agencies would probably think it is, while mechanics and surgeons wouldn’t. But, for the man who claims to belong to the Lord Jesus Christ, the question is, how should he make the best use of his boxes?

It’s all about sizing and prioritizing.

For too many years, I kept Christ’s box buried somewhere in the stacks of them I’d accumulated for myself. It took a while to find it when I needed it because it looked just like all the others. As a result, my life was incomplete and disordered to say the least. Every expectation I sought from any box usually lacked significance and rarely materialized.

So, I decided to quit living like a boxymoron. I decided, first of all, to give God the biggest box I could find.

But it wasn’t all about what I needed. It was about what His box deserved. Nothing in any of the other boxes accomplishes what His does. Nothing in any of them loved me enough to die in my place so that I might live again in the age to come.

Nothing even came close.

Every box I create for myself now automatically goes into His box. I have to go through His to access any of mine.

And if it won’t fit in there, I get rid of it.

Any faithful disciple of Jesus Christ will testify to the trials of being one.

He knows there are barriers to cross. But if I don’t actually comprehend why His “good news” is so good, then I probably won’t be able to appreciate the truth about the highest one.

And that truth is clear: The hope of a future resurrection of the righteous dead is the very foundation upon which every other part of our faith is built. So It doesn’t surprise me that much of what’s taught in our congregations today is steeped in tradition rather than Biblical accuracy.

Why? Because it’s also something which was predicted. [see: 2Tim. 4:1-4; see also: Col. 2:6-8]

Good news can hardly be considered good unless it makes sense. But guess who’s trying to make his lie believable?

The Great Deceiver isn’t hanging out with lost souls. He and his cohorts are hard at work in our congregations, fellowship groups and Bible studies, obscuring the truth of what Jesus and His apostles taught about what life actually is. There are a lot a ways to attack the truth. But he knows there’s only one silver bullet that completely shatters the potency of Christ’s good news:

Diminish the relevance of the miracle we look forward to—His raising of the dead.

Of course, not even Satan can deny what’s written, so the best approach is to try to convince us that we’ll never die at all. [see: Gen. 3:4]

But if some conscious part of me never dies, why would my resurrection be such a big deal? This is a popular mindset today. The problem is that neither Jesus nor His apostles ever taught such a thing. Fortunately, the serious Bible reader can easily refute this lie with any number of passages taken in the proper context.

The hope of Christ’s disciple’s isn’t God’s marvelous, undeserved saving grace.

His hope of a resurrection is the result of that grace.

Raising the dead is a miracle that we can only understand from a limited perspective. But that only makes it more miraculous. When the Lord God raises the dead, the barrier of death shall be abolished for the righteous who sleep.

That’s what makes the good news good. But if that barrier doesn’t really exist, then the idea of a resurrection isn’t necessary at all.

No barrier=no accountability=cheap grace.

No way.

It’s only human to make a mess of things.

The problem is, we’ve become conditioned to try to fix them by seeking remedies from the people we’ve elected to serve us—not clean up after us!

The result? We’ve raised up “kings” for ourselves, some of whom rule justly. Others, not so much. It hasn’t helped that, by the design of soft men having been elected into these positions of authority, we’ve also created a couple of generations of passive males.

But even though He’s been known to clean up our messes, God has always wanted to be the only King of His people.

Yet time and time again, they’ve demonstrated that they’d rather be ruled by kings of their own choosing. It’s like a recurring epidemic with devastating consequences. The Scriptures record the first major outbreak in the book of Samuel:

“Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah, and they said to him, “Behold, you have grown old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now appoint a king for us to judge us like all the nations…” [1Sam. 8:4-5; read also vss. 6-18] [my emphasis]

So that’s exactly what God told Samuel to do. He gave His people what they wanted: Saul. [see: 1Sam. 9:15-17] But not without first admonishing them.

And I find it interesting that the things the Lord warned His people about through Samuel are the same things we’re witnessing today from the “kings” we’ve put in place. He said, “This will be the procedure of the king who will reign over you…” [1Sam. 8:9]

Perhaps a short, paraphrased list would best illustrate the similarities:

1. He’ll conscript your children to operate his affairs and serve him. [vss. 11-13]
2. He’ll appropriate the best of what you produce to increase his wealth and purposes. [vss. 14-15]
3. He’ll entice your employees and commission them for himself. [vs. 16]
4. Then he’ll confiscate your personal property for his own benefit. [vs. 17]

Sound familiar?

What’s the most unsettling part of this reality? Is it that too many of His people are allowing their integrity and sovereignty to be violated? Or do they simply not realize they’ve unwittingly become enslaved to the modern day Saul—a tyrannical, global financial apparatus which consistently defiles God and everything He stands for?

SAULmonella may not be fatal but it’s certainly contagious. However, the good news is that I don’t have to live with it.

I can listen to and learn from the only True King.

What keeps me alive if I never learn how to stay that way?

Only a fool would deny that the Lord has kept him safe in situations when he’s been vulnerable. But it’d also be foolish not to try to learn how to provide for my safety using the knowledge and wisdom He’s given me.

A man stranded in the wilderness will likely perish if he never learned how to survive in that predicament. On the other hand, it’s also hard to imagine that God would actually prevent him from accumulating the knowledge needed to survive there either.

But if my concern is to not perish for the lack of knowledge, then perhaps building a genuine relationship with Him might be the key:

“Listen to the word of the Lord, O sons of Israel, for the Lord has a case against the inhabitants of the land, because there is no faithfulness or kindness or knowledge of God in the land...My people are destroyed* for lack of knowledge.“ [Hos. 4:1, 4:6a] [my emphasis]

[*Masoretic text translation; the Greek Septuagint reads literally; “My people are made as not having knowledge”]

However, I’d do well to remember that the essence of any relationship is sustained by an act of the will. But free will isn’t just a mechanism for decisions made in faith. It also lubricates the wheels turning the train of knowledge and experience.

In other words, acquiring knowledge is always the result of a choice.

According to the prophecy of Hosea, no knowledge of God can exist outside of a sincere relationship with Him—one which reveals itself through faithfulness as well.

If I learn certain survival skills, my odds of surviving certain circumstances increase. If I [could possibly even] learn everything I need to know about God, then my odds of perishing are bound to decrease. But survival skills don’t necessarily demand the sacrifices of a relationship.

The true knowledge of God does.

If my faith is never tested, it could hardly be said to exist.

There’s no better opportunity to make that case than today. Look around. The highest hurdle in the race to overcome sinful behavior has always been the shroud of deception surrounding it. And the Deceiver knows that the sheer volume of deception enhances its effectiveness.

It’s hard to ignore the force of a fire hose.

In his battle to overcome the world, there isn’t a catch-all solution for Jesus Christ’s faithful disciple to apply in every situation. Indeed, the King of Kings shall ultimately prevail over evil and rule justly, making all things right when He returns to the Earth.

But I can’t fix everything around me now.

That’s not to say I shouldn’t try. The Bible reveals that God works in the lives of both those who love Him as well as those who don’t. So, since discipleship is a skill to develop, perhaps I’d do well to learn when to hold ’em and when to fold ’em.

But what can I take to the bank?

At the end of the day, what can I do to remain confident as I continue to stand up to all the depravity and immorality the world tries to shove down my throat?

Here’s an idea. In his letter to the saints in Christ Jesus who [were] in Philippi, the apostle Paul exhorted them to “…rejoice in the Lord always” more than once! [see: vss. 3:1, 4:4]

But there’s more, folks.

Paul had tremendous confidence in the things he’d “learned and received” from the Lord, otherwise, he wouldn’t have suggested that the readers take them to heart as well. He also reminded them that there are always things worth focusing on—regardless of the circumstances:

“Finally, brethren, whatever is True, whatever is hOnorable, whatever is Right, whatever is Pure, whatever is Lovely, whatever is Admirable—if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things. The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.” [Phil. 4:8-9]

I found a way to remember them: T O R P L A.

I’ll never forget that sign I used to see on the side of the road.

It said, “Livestock turns our green grass to gold.” As a young boy, I never gave much thought to why we fed our calves—only that they had mouths and an appetite. At some point though, I started connecting the dots.

Livestock facilitate a miraculous created process known as feed conversion.

And the Psalmist surely envisioned God’s people in much the same way as sheep who, on the one hand, enjoy the safety and provisions of life their Shepherd provides for them, yet understand inherently that there is an expectation as a result:

“Know that the LORD Himself is God. It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves. We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.” [Psa. 100:3]

But the idea of actually becoming productive in His “pasture” never occurred to me until I was much older. Every shepherd knows who his sheep are. However, some follow him more closely than others. These are the ones Jesus talked about having known on a higher level.

God placed me in His pasture because He purchased me. Only He knows ALL the reasons for that happening. But one thing is certain: That transaction was made on the basis of my faith. It could never have happened unless I’d really believed what I’d heard or read. [Eph. 1:3-14]

My job to continue to believe would seem to be just one more way of demonstrating productivity to the Master who bought me. Perhaps I could call that “eating well.” If I don’t do that, then the process of feed conversion will likely be compromised.

So what, you say?

Well, consider that a relational principle we hold dear is no less relevant to our Lord Himself—that is to say, status by ownership [or being a son] is neither questioned nor conditionally rewarded.

However, behavior, intent and productivity are. [see: Matt. 22:11-14, 25:28-30]

“For the Lord is good. His lovingkindness is everlasting, and His faithfulness to all generations.” [Psa. 100:5]

Suffering is a condition we tend to avoid.

And it’s not easy since there always seems to be enough of it to go around. I’m no stranger to suffering, but my experiences pale in comparison to some of the horrifying things others have gone through.

So then, how should I react to suffering?

Perhaps it would depend on the reason. In his letter to those who [resided] as aliens, the apostle Peter said:

“For [it is] better, if [it be] the will of God, to suffer [for doing what is right rather] than [for] doing what is wrong.” [1Pet. 3:17]

The problem is, most of the time we don’t get to pick our reasons. But I’ve learned that I really do have the ability to decide how I want to respond to suffering. And sometimes it helps to focus on why it’s happening.

Because there are some very good reasons to rejoice in our sufferings as Christ’s apostles did [see: Ac. 5:41]. The apostle Paul also explained to all who [were] beloved of God in Rome, called as saints:

“The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we might also be glorified with Him.” [Rom. 8:16-17]

And, again, Peter wrote:

“…but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing, so that also at the revelation of His glory you may rejoice with exultation.” [1Pet. 4:13]

But what if I learned that any suffering I might experience because of my obedience to Him had actually been given to me as a facilitator of the Lord’s ongoing sanctification process that’s working in me now? Would I really need to launch some kind of an extensive search to find a good reason to rejoice about it?

“For to you it has been granted in Christ’s behalf, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake…” [Phil.1:29] [my emphasis]

Some suffering seems wholly unwarranted, and surely is. And perhaps I should try to recognize a lot of my suffering in the same way a child comes to understand the value of discipline.

But maybe my tears should be from joy.

What Jesus and the apostolic authors often repeated bears repeating.

But if I don’t recognize the reasons they did, then I might miss their point.

The apostle Peter wrote to those who were chosen, according to the foreknowledge of God the Father:

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who, according to His great mercy has given [to] us new birth [as a] living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, [in order to obtain] an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, having been guarded in the heavens for you all, who are shielded by the power of God by the means of [your] faith for salvation prepared to be revealed in the last time.” [1Pet. 1:3-5] [my emphasis]

The apostle Paul, in his letter the church of God which was at Corinth, said:

“Do you not know that, those who run in a race all run, but [only] one receives the prize? Run, [then], in such a way that you might win. All who compete in the games exercise self-control in all [things] in order that they might receive a perishable wreath. But we [shall receive] an imperishable [prize]. In the same way, I run not without aim. In the same way, I [also] box, not beating the air. But, [instead], I discipline my body, even enslaving [it], lest, if, somehow, after preaching to others, I myself would not become disqualified.” [1Cor. 9:24-27] [my emphasis]

If I can’t presume anything else from these two men who actually knew and spoke to the Man, Jesus Christ, I can certainly conclude that, ultimately, salvation is something I can only realize in “the last time,” which would coincide with His second coming.

And what could be more obvious that, without training myself in such a way to be able to “finish the race” in a manner to actually achieve the prize, I might not even make it at all.

The New Testament letters and narratives record sixteen instances of six different words translated as “endurance” in the NASB version, including three uses by Jesus Himself, having spoken the word ὑπομένω [hoop-aw-mên’-ōh], meaning to stay behind, to stand firm, endure or persevere or μένω [mên’-ōh], meaning to remain.

He said: “But the one who endures to the end, he shall be saved.” [Matt. 24:13]

Here’s what I try to remember: Any type of race requires stamina.

And it gets harder the closer I get to the end of it.