DON'T GET OUTSIDE THE BOX

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

As for you, see that what you have heard from the beginning remains in you. If it does, you also will remain in the Son and in the Father. And this is what He promised us—eternal life.

I am writing these things to you about those who are trying to lead you astray. As for you, the anointing you received from Him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as His anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit—just as it has taught you, remain in Him.

1 John 2:24-27

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

You may have heard people suggest that thinking outside of the proverbial box is a good thing and in some cases this might be true from a worldly perspective. Many great ideas have resulted from people finding solutions by allowing their thinking to depart from convention. I know I have experienced this first hand, not only through people I have been associated with but through my own intellect as well.

But here’s the thing. While thinking “outside the box” might have its earthly benefits, when it comes to the Gospel work of Christianity and the following of the Word of God, there is no need to rely on ourselves or anyone else to think outside of what the Lord has already set in place. For in the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, God has given us His complete, inerrant, unchanging Word. He has informed us with everything we need and then gifted us the Holy Spirit to illuminate and instruct us in regard to understanding the Word.

With this in mind, we turn to our two verses from our continued study of 1 John, chapter 2. There we read this:

As for you, see that what you have heard from the beginning remains in you. If it does, you also will remain in the Son and in the Father. And this is what He promised us—eternal life. 

I am writing these things to you about those who are trying to lead you astray. As for you, the anointing you received from Him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as His anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit—just as it has taught you, remain in Him.

Vv.24-27

Now, up to this point in chapter 2, we know that the scriptures have spent a lot of time speaking on the matter of false teaching, manifested past and present by antichrists led by none other than Satan, the one who is the ruler of the world (John 16:11) and the father of lies (John 8:44).

With this as a backdrop, John is essentially telling his Christian readers to not think outside the box when it comes to their faith and what they believe. He urges them to ensure that retain the Word they have “heard from the beginning” and then live in obedience to it. There was no need to receive and accept any other theology or doctrine outside of the Holy Word of the God Most High. It was true in first century A.D. and it's still true today.

So what is the reward for refusing to deviate from the Word the Lord has given?

The scriptures tell us that it would allow the Christian believer to “remain” grounded and anchored “in the Son and in the Father”, the Ones through which bring the promise of “eternal life”.

Friends, our Lord doesn’t ask us to think outside of the box. Rather, He wants us to know and trust His Word fully, a Word illuminated by the Holy Spirit, so we will stay in the box through righteous behavior. He has given us all His expectations for the way He wants us to live to include the way we think, speak, and act. It’s up to us to remain in Him and live up to those expectations so He can mold and shape us every day to be as He created us, a reflection of His own image.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.