Think Outside The Box

When I was younger, I used to think that Boxing Day was so called because there must have been a big boxing match on somewhere. As I got older, I began to think it must have got its name from the fact that people box up their Christmas gifts on this day.

However, it seems both are wrong. Boxing Day apparently got its name from the fact that servants were traditionally given a box of gifts after the rest of the family had celebrated Christmas. In recent years, the meaning seems to have changed again to signal the day that people box up their gifts to return them to the shops in search of something better.

I think we can be in danger of 'boxing' Jesus up too, on Boxing Day. We remember His birth in the run-up to Christmas and on Christmas Day itself, but after that, how quickly do we pack Him away again until next year? How quickly do we seek to exchange Him for something else?

But Jesus didn't just come to change one day. He didn't just come so that one day of our lives would be better with food and drink and presents and a day off work. He came to change our whole lives: to change the way we see ourselves and God and to bring us back to our Father in heaven.

Jesus said,

"Live in me. Make your home in me just as I do in you. In the same way that a branch can't bear grapes by itself but only by being joined to the vine, you can't bear fruit unless you are joined with me."

[John 15:4 MSG]

I wrote earlier in the week about Jesus coming, not just for a visit, but to live with us - to move in. In the same way, He invites us to live in Him, to make ourselves at home in His love.

To paraphrase a popular RSPCA advert, "Jesus is for life, not just for Christmas."

Instead of neatly packing Jesus away until the start of Advent next year, let's remind ourselves of why He came and make ourselves comfortable and at home in Him.

Let's consider what life might be like if we didn't pack Him away in a neat box, but invited Him deeper into our lives.

Let's think outside the box.

Complete Happiness

I turned the radio on this evening halfway through a comedy programme.  The first sketch I heard was about a man who had phoned the helpline of a toaster he had just purchased.

He explained how the toaster had come with instructions stating: If you are not completely happy with this product, please phone us.

He was happy enough with the toaster, but he wasn't 'completely happy' with his life and wanted to talk about it.

The man wondered whether or not 'complete happiness' was ever attainable.  And if it was attainable through the purchase of products.  He described the process of buying a new gadget and 'fooling yourself into the belief' that another object will bring fulfilment.  Only to find yourself, hours later, surrounded by cardboard and cellophane and wondering why you don't feel satisfied.

Is complete happiness ever attainable?

Isn't that something we all ask?

Is complete happiness ever attainable?

And, if it is, how do I get it?

I don't think that complete happiness, as an unalterable, permanent state, is achievable.  Because happiness is dependent on our circumstances.  It is something that changes based on our situations, our finances, our relationships; it alters with our jobs, our friendships, even our energy levels.  Happiness is temporal and changing.  It is fickle.

But I do think that complete joy is attainable.  Joy as a permanent, deep-rooted thing, which is based on the truth of who we are in God.  When we know who we are, we stop seeking for fulfilment and completeness and happiness in other things.

 

Jesus said,

"I have told you this [given you my teachings] so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete."

[John 15:11 NIV, emphasis mine]

Your joy may be complete.

 

Paul knew what this looked like, he had a joy which surpassed circumstances:

"I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want [because] I can do everything through him who gives me strength."

[Philippians 4:11-13 NIV]

 

Complete happiness may not be possible, but complete joy is.


 

4 Degrees

I heard on the radio the other day that with the advent of Facebook and Twitter and other social media, there are now only 4 degrees of separation between everyone on the planet.

4 degrees.

I know someone who knows someone who knows someone who knows me.*

But what does it really mean to 'know' someone?  Is it enough to simply know their name?  And does that really make us 'friends'? 

In his book "The Best Idea in the World", Mark Greene writes,

"We are globally wired, but relationally disconnected, touched a million times a day but rarely embraced."

The internet and modern mobile phone technology have changed the face of our relationships: we send texts and emails instead of talking on the phone or meeting face to face; we communicate with people through 140 characters or less instead of engaging in extended conversations; we ‘follow’ people, whether they want us to or not (which, in 'real life' would perhaps be classed as stalking ...).  On Facebook, we can 'become' friends with someone instantly: we meet them at a party or at church or through a friend of a friend and that same day we become 'friends'.

We are in danger of reducing the meaning and value of friendship.  People become commodities to acquire rather than valuable image-bearers of God to love and to serve.**

Jesus set the example for our friendships by modelling the kind of love He wanted us to have for each other:

This is my command: Love one another the way I loved you.  This is the very best way to love.  Put your life on the line for your friends.  You are my friends when you do the things I command you.  I'm no longer calling you servants because servants don't understand what their master is thinking and planning. No, I've named you friends because I've let you in on everything I've heard from the Father."

[John 15:12-15 MSG emphasis mine]

In stark contrast to a society which collects 'friends' like Pokémon, Jesus calls us to genuine, deep spirited friendship.  The kind of friendship which spends time getting to know someone, which values their individuality and loves them.  A friendship which wants the best for them, even at the expense of ourselves.  A friendship which is modelled on Christ's self-sacrificial love for us.

In Philippians, Paul writes,

If you've gotten anything at all out of following Christ, if his love has made any difference in your life, if being in a community of the Spirit means anything to you, if you have a heart, if you care— then do me a favour: Agree with each other, love each other, be deep-spirited friends.  Don't push your way to the front; don't sweet-talk your way to the top.  Put yourself aside, and help others get ahead.  Don't be obsessed with getting your own advantage.  Forget yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand.

        [Philippians 2:1-4 MSG] 

If Facebook had a 'Friend Clause' - by clicking 'Add Friend' you are committing to put yourself aside and put this person first - I wonder how many 'Friends' I would have.  And how many I would add.

* I may well have missed out a link here; maths is not my strong point.

** Don't get me wrong: I use both Facebook and Twitter daily and am not criticising them in and of themselves; I think they are brilliant tools for staying in touch with people.  However, I think there is a tendency to mistake online communications for real connections, which leaves both us and others dissatisfied.