Box It Up This Instant!

Box It Up

Boxes are great. I like packing them. Organizing them. Labeling them. And apparently I like moving them. Having changed addresses 9 times in the past 8 years, I'm practically a professional packer (or "boxer," if you will).

Aside from cardboard and packing tape, my brain is prone to creating imaginary boxes. I like clarity. I like organization. I like neatness. I like schedules. And I LOVE to be in control. (No, "control freak" does not begin to explain it.) If it can't be categorized and put into a box ("this is good," "that is bad," "she's a friend," "he's a foe"), then I toss it in the "baffles me" box and avoid it.

The problem is, the sorts of boxes for which I search do not exist. Not when their labels are (a) people, and (b) life. The closest thing for "b" comes with the right label, but can't hold anything more than a few cereal flakes. As for "a," who wants to be put into a box? No one! Most of all -- me -- the professional boxer!

So, what's with the box fetish? An unhealthy fear of rejection. If I can protect myself from pain before it happens, I will try to. When I see something (or someone) that fits inside the "potential to cause harm" box, I tend to not open it. It's that easy. But it's also...that much of a false reality.

Have you ever wondered why Jesus chose to put Judas inside of His "One of the Twelve" box? Jesus knew the guy would betray Him. He knew that Judas would kiss Him to His death. Why allow someone into your inner friendship circle when you KNOW he will cause you the worst sort of pain a friend could ever cause?

Could it be because Jesus wanted to show us that love can't be boxed up? That when we let others into our circle of trust, lines get blurred and wounds cut deep. That in the end, boxes are nothing but a lie. That the only thing really real, the only thing that can permeate our cardboard-thin walls and endure forever is...love?

"And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love."
1 Corinthians 13:13

"Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart."
Proverbs 3:3