The Freedom Of Limitation – Living Inside God's BoxSample

Even Jesus Had a Box – The People Box

Take a look at verses 2-3 of our reading very closely. These two verses essentially contain six questions, split into two clear categories:

The first three are a recognition of what Jesus has done.

“Where did this man get these things? What’s this wisdom that has been given to Him? What are these remarkable miracles He is performing?”

Within these questions there is the undeniable truth that the young man standing before them has somehow attained some dynamic spiritual authority. All of a sudden He is doing undeniable miracles! Surely everyone should be filled with joy, celebrating and embracing the man of God. But no, they get stuck on the following three questions:

“Isn’t this the carpenter? Isn’t this Mary’s son and the brother of… Aren’t His sisters here with us?”

Even though they clearly acknowledged Jesus’ authority, wisdom and power, they refused to accept these things because of His human, mundane, ordinary context. Tragically, instead of accepting Him, they took offence at Him. Why? They couldn’t get beyond what they knew about Him in order to embrace what they saw in Him.

It is interesting that in His own town of Nazareth, Jesus struggled to do any miracles, but 18 miles or so down the road in Capernaum He did numerous miracles. Moving over to Capernaum He escaped from the boxes that others tried to create for Him and wanted Him to live within.

This is why it is so important to understand the Father’s purpose for our lives, so that we can address the boxes that others will always seek to make for us. People will always have an opinion about who we are, what we can and cannot do, where we can and cannot go. Even when we’re doing what we believe we should be doing, others will still have their opinions about what we are doing and how we are living. Though it is important to listen to the counsel of godly, wise people who know how life works, we must be careful not to listen to those whose only ambition is to box us in and restrict us from becoming the best we can be.