God is not a Methodist

a friend wrote in to me..........

"Jeff, for years you talked about the danger of keeping God in a box. Well, I have been thinking more about that and I have arrived at a realization. God is not a card carrying member of my denomination or anyone else's for that matter. God is not a Methodist, a Baptist or a Catholic............."

Let me comment on this nice note.....

In the movie 42, about the baseball career of Jackie Robinson, Branch Rickey who recruits him, is explaining to one of his coworkers why it is ok to bring an African American into Major league baseball. Rickey famously says of Robinson, "I'm a Methodist, he's a Methodist, God is a Methodist."

It is a cute statement, but it is not accurate. God is not a Methodist. God is bigger than Methodism, God is bigger than the Catholic Church. In fact, God is bigger than our ideas about Christianity. Do you realize that there are versions of Christianity around the world that are very different than what we practice in America? And God is bigger than all of the versions.

There is a famous story about 5 blind men who are leading an elephant along a road. Later they were asked what the elephant was like. The one who held the trunk said that the elephant was like a boa constrictor. The one who held the ear said that the elephant was like a piece of heavy leather. The one whose hand guided the elephant's leg said that the elephant is some kind of a giant. The one who held the tail said that the elephant was like a wiggly worm.

They might have thought they knew, but they did not really know what an elephant was like. They only had clues of something that was much much bigger than they were able to perceive in their limited state.

God is bigger than your denomination. God is bigger than our version of Christianity.

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.