Outside the Box

I’ve always wanted to be an inventor. My co-worker, Sarah, and I even invented a fantastic piece of equipment that would enable under-the-desk exercise at work. Unfortunately, her sister burst our bubble when she sent us a link to a company that already made our invention. Oh well, that just freed our minds to focus on even more important inventions (which we never did).

Although I’ve never been willing to invest the time or resources into seeing my (brilliant) inventions to market, I do value ingenuity and out-of-the-box thinking. I like to see someone take a bold strike at an established pattern and redefine the future.

Allan and Michele already stole two of my “B” words in their comments under yesterday’s post, so I was forced to think outside of the box today. I chose a word I’ve never thought of in relation to God before: Bold.

I’ve been reading through the gospels recently, and Jesus’ boldness has stood out in so many ways.

He was authoritative in His doctrine: “And they were astonished at his doctrine: for he taught them as one that had authority, and not as the scribes” (Mark 1:22).

He was willing to challenge the respected leaders of an established, but woefully misapplied, system: “But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in” (Matthew 23:13).

He reached out to those who others ignored, avoided, or trampled: “She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more” (John 8:11).

He commanded the very forces of nature: “And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm” (Mark 4:39).

He—the perfect Son of God—gave His life for me, a sinner: “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).

And if all of that doesn’t convince you that He is bold, consider that He challenged death itself…and conquered! “He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay” (Matthew 28:6).

He is my Jesus, and I love Him. How thankful I am that He invites me to come boldly to His throne of grace.

Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.—Hebrews 4:16

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