{"id":364,"date":"2005-07-21T23:53:14","date_gmt":"2005-07-21T23:53:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/salguod.net\/blog\/2005\/07\/gods_two_boxes.shtml"},"modified":"2021-05-29T02:46:49","modified_gmt":"2021-05-29T02:46:49","slug":"gods_two_boxes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/salguod.net\/blog\/2005\/07\/gods_two_boxes.shtml","title":{"rendered":"God’s Two Boxes"},"content":{"rendered":"

I hear and read of things that people are working on in their lives or are praying for. I want to be more organized. I want to get my finances in order. I want to get into a house. Don’t get me wrong, those things have their importance and are meaningful, but I’ve been wondering how important they are to God in the His perspective from outside of time. He’s got the perfect vision, He can see the beginning and end of time at once. He knows how it all got stared and how it ends. He truly knows what’s important. Down here on Earth, with our limited vision of time, things can get cloudy. We get fooled by mirages and hallucinations<\/a>. Which has lead me to this question:
\nIf God had only two boxes to put everything of mine in, one marked ‘Important’ and one marked “Unimportant”, where would he put my stuff?<\/strong>
\nAnd, being boxes, they are limited in size. In other words, He can’t just keep putting everything in the “Important” box. Pretty soon it would get full, and he’d have to make decisions. “Hmm, I gotta take out the big screen or I can’t fit in salvation for his children.” Get the picture?
\nYes, it’s a reductionist question, but I think we can learn from this simplification. It makes me think that some of the things we run after aren’t really that important to God. I’m not talking about just the material things. In fact, those are the things we can easily see God putting in the “Unimportant” box. No, I bet there are some Big Things on our lists that God looks at and says, “You know, from where I sit, looking at all eternity, that’s really no big deal.”
\nGood health? God says, “From up here, being sick for 30 years is a minute thing.” Financial security? “You know you only need to deal with that money for 75, 80 years. After that it’s useless.” A nice house? “You’re only going to live there for a few decades! After a thousand years, you won’t remember it, trust me.”
\nIt’s the heart things, those things that shape us and define us that God might put into that “Important” box. A friendship that challenges you to grow? “Might be the difference in where you spend the next millenia.” An outward, others focus? “Might be the difference between where they spend eternity!” Learning to love like Jesus? “Might help My image, and maybe help others actually find their way home.”
\nIt makes me think of this passage in a new light: <\/p>\n

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?
\n“And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. but seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.<\/p>\n

Matthew 6:25-33<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n

This passage is usually used to teach us not to fret over stuff, which is important. In the light of the idea of God’s two boxes, I wonder if Jesus isn’t also, or even primarily, teaching us to put things in proper perspective – God’s perspective. Food, money, shelter, in the long run these things, though needed, are not important. Let God take care of those things, you turn your attention to the stuff in God’s “Important” box.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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That got Kansas Bob talking about the cost of friendship. In his post, Bob quoted this scripture: Therefore if you are presenting your offering at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your offering there before\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "God and Church"","block_context":{"text":"God and Church","link":"https:\/\/salguod.net\/blog\/god-and-church"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":496,"url":"https:\/\/salguod.net\/blog\/2006\/05\/midweek_lesson.shtml","url_meta":{"origin":364,"position":1},"title":"Midweek Lesson – Dreams & Personal Vision","author":"Doug Schaefer","date":"May 18, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"I've been leading our house church for a few months now. I've meant to post my notes on our midweek lessons each week, but have forgotten to. 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Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "God and Church"","block_context":{"text":"God and Church","link":"https:\/\/salguod.net\/blog\/god-and-church"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1130,"url":"https:\/\/salguod.net\/blog\/2012\/06\/job_1_-_satan_attacks.shtml","url_meta":{"origin":364,"position":3},"title":"Job 1 – Satan Attacks","author":"Doug Schaefer","date":"June 25, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"I'm going to try to make these QT posts a bit easier to follow without looking up each scipture reference. These always made sense to me as I wrote them, but looking back they are a bit like listening to one half of a phone call. I'd like these to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Quiet Time Journal"","block_context":{"text":"Quiet Time Journal","link":"https:\/\/salguod.net\/blog\/quiet-time-journal"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":569,"url":"https:\/\/salguod.net\/blog\/2006\/10\/about_god.shtml","url_meta":{"origin":364,"position":4},"title":"About God …","author":"Doug Schaefer","date":"October 13, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"This week, three different posts on other blogs have showed me God in a new way. Each has moved me and stirred my emotions. Let me share them with you. First, Pinakidion shares a lesson about God learned from his son, through weaning him:... I don't believe that he is\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "God and Church"","block_context":{"text":"God and Church","link":"https:\/\/salguod.net\/blog\/god-and-church"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":530,"url":"https:\/\/salguod.net\/blog\/2006\/07\/qts_with_jessic_7.shtml","url_meta":{"origin":364,"position":5},"title":"[QT’s with Jessica] – John 6:41-71","author":"Doug Schaefer","date":"July 28, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"My Summer time Bible Readings with 11 year old Jessica. Do you remember in what we read last time that Jesus was talking about spiritual things and the people were thinking about physical things? Do you understand that? J - Not really. What are physical things? 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