God-in-a-Box

God often works in bizarre ways that we don't expect or even understand. I think many Christians, myself included, often forget this. But let's remember again. God's done some pretty out-of-the-box things through some pretty crazy people throughout history…

Would God reveal himself through a man running around naked for three years? (pun intended)
Isaiah 20

Would God speak through a talking donkey?
Numbers 22

A man who married a prostitute and named his child "bastard"? (not exactly the sanctity of marriage at its finest)
Hosea 1

A man who sat in the gutter for over a year, playing war with toy battering rams and a frying pan, and cooking food over manure?
Ezekiel 4

A wild man living in the desert on a diet of grasshoppers?
Matthew 3

A humble, peace-loving man who looks nothing like the mighty warrior you were expecting?
Matthew 26


What I'm trying to say is this… the purpose of reading and studying Scripture is not to master it as a subject, becoming an expert on God. We can never master the Bible, because it's supposed to master us. We can never become an expert on God, because the mystery of his ways and thoughts is far beyond our understanding (Isaiah 55:8–9).

So let's study Scripture, let's hold firm to what the Bible teaches, let's believe in solid theology, let's stand in the orthodoxy of church tradition. All these things are very important. But let's not shut our eyes and minds to the new, surprising ways that God is working in our lives and the world. Because if God told the prophet Isaiah to run around completely naked for three years, then who knows what He will do next! Your theological box, no longer how large and sturdy, isn't going to hold Him back.