public square. So it is no surprise in the Pew study that the younger people are,
the less religious they are. And what does that project for our future?
Against this ominous tide we know that the Lord’s love and providence are
working every moment with every individual to lift us up and give us hope. He
still comes to be born in our hearts every year – every Christmas. We need to
be doing all we can to make sure there is always room in the inn.
(BMH)
‘thinking outside the box’
All human thought takes place within a “box” of some kind. The quality of our
thought depends upon the nature of the box we’re thinking outside of, and the
one we’re thinking within.
The box we need to learn to think outside of is composed of natural
appearances, popular opinion, false assumptions and prejudices, pride, and
the limitations of our own intelligence. The way to think outside this box is
to conform our thoughts to the larger box of spiritual reality. This begins with
humility, and knowledge of the Lord’s Word.
Creation consists of an endless series of boxes within boxes. The difference
between the higher and lower heavens is that the thought of those in the
higher heavens is contained within “larger boxes” than those in the lower
heavens. Also, the boxes of the higher heavens are made out of less dense,
more translucent material.
The way to a more comprehensive and clearer understanding of life is not
to pretend we are capable of thought that is not circumscribed. All human
thought is limited, bound by time and space; and we need concrete forms
to define it and for it to rest upon. To think without any limits, without any
preconceived constructs whatsoever, would be like seeing through everything,
which is to see nothing. The mind is like a house, and a house without walls
isn’t a house.
Our goal should be, not so much to “think outside the box,” but to accept
that our thought will always be limited to a greater or lesser degree, and seek
to enlarge the box we think in (expand the scope of our thought). This we can
do by studying the Word, reflecting on nature in the light of spiritual truth,
praying to the Lord for enlightenment, and, in general, regenerating.
“You have heard that it was said . . . but I say unto you . . . “ The Lord
repeated those words again and again in the Sermon on the Mount. (see
Matthew 5: 22, 28, 32, 34, 44) He was teaching His disciples not just to think
outside the box, but to think inside the new box He was giving them.
(WEO)
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