I'm Coming Out

We Americans are fascinated by labels. Actually, I don't know that the word fascinated describes it accurately. It really borders on obsession sometimes. Walk down the aisle in a grocery store, and you will almost certainly pass some poor, harried mother of 2 reading the label on the SpaghettiOs to make sure it doesn't have any trans-fat in it. Of course, IMHO, if you're going with SpaghettiOs, you may as well ignore the label and finish your shopping.

We categorize and label everything - our foods, our music, our medicines, our movies and TV shows. Labels can be a wonderful tool in helping us make more informed decisions. They boil things down to their basic ingredients, tell us the important things we need to know at a glance. Labels serve a purpose for things like food and medicine, media and entertainment. So, what's my point, right?

My point is this: why do we label each other? Can a person be boiled down to a simple label? Can one word or sentence describe the personality and being of an individual? Even those fancy personality tests take your answers to a few dozen questions (or maybe a few hundred, depending on the test) and slot you into one of a few categories. They label you.

We unconsciously label ourselves and others every day. How do you describe yourself? I'm a mother, or I'm a brain surgeon. Maybe you say, I'm middle-aged, I'm a teenager, I'm single or I'm married. We box ourselves in based on our age, our occupation, our marital status or some other facet of who we are. Even in the church we label each other - the worship leader, the pastor, the Sunday school teacher. We place each other in boxes. Then we decide what everyone is capable of being or doing based on the box they fit into. I don't know about you, but I don't fit in just one box.

Well, I'm here to tell you today that I'm coming out. I'm no longer going to allow myself to be put into someone else's box. I'm even going to come out of the box of my own making. And, what's more, I'm going to let God out of the box I've made for Him - oh, come on, you know the box I'm talking about, the faith box, the one that says just how far you'll go to do His will or just how far you think He'll go for you. You've said it, I know you have - OK, God, I'll give this $20 to missions, but I'm not going myself. Or, I know God can do it, I just don't know if He'll do it for me.

Stop it. Just stop it already. God has more for you - so much more, but you refuse to see it. You've got Him locked in a box because you are comfortable where you are, or you're afraid He won't do things according to your specifications. Whatever it is that's holding you back. Whatever your box is - come out of it! Maybe you think you're too old or too young, not good enough or too good. Sometimes we just get so hung up in our own stuff - family, work, etc. Quit labeling yourself and climb out of that box. It may seem spacious enough in there, but imagine the wide open spaces you can enjoy if you'll step out of that comfort zone.

Look, I'm not saying God is going to send you to Africa or the wilds of the Amazon. I'm not even saying you'll have to give up your favorite pew at church. What I am saying is that you should be willing. Be willing to go to Africa or next door. Be willing to give up your favorite pew in favor of sitting next to the lonely widow who just lost her husband. I have heard it said before, and I find it more true every day: if your dream is big enough for you to accomplish alone, then it is not God's dream for you. Let's throw away the boxes and labels and dream a bigger dream.

Prepare to be amazed at what God will do!