God in a Box
“And Jesus looking upon them saith, With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible.” – Mark 10:27 (KJV)
I love nature. The quiet beauty of a sunrise, the intricate design of a leaf, the rhythm of the seasons—all of it reflects the handiwork of our Creator. But while I marvel at the natural world, I do not call myself a naturalist. A naturalist believes that nature and the laws governing it are all there is and there isn’t a divine hand nor eternal purpose; just matter, motion, and measurable facts.
Since the Enlightenment, human reason has been elevated as the supreme way to understand the world. And don’t get me wrong—I believe in reason. I believe in science. God Himself invites us to reason with Him (Isaiah 1:18). The laws of physics, biology, and chemistry—these are not enemies of faith. They are, in many ways, glimpses into the ordered mind of God.
But there is a difference between studying the laws of the universe and worshiping them. Science is a noble pursuit, but it is not omniscient. Reason is a powerful tool, but it has its limits. When we try to explain God using only what we can observe and measure, we reduce Him to something finite, manageable and understandable.
In other words, we put God in a box.
But the God of Scripture—the God who parted seas, who spoke stars into being, who raised the dead—is not bound by the rules we discover or the categories we create. As Jesus said in Mark 10:27, “With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible.”
There are promises of God that defy logic. There are miracles that contradict what we call possible. And there are aspects of God’s nature—His eternity, His omnipresence, His unsearchable wisdom—that stretch far beyond our ability to grasp. That is where faith enters in.
Faith is not blind. Faith is the evidence of things not seen (Hebrews 11:1). It is trust in a God who is greater than our understanding, who moves in ways we cannot always explain, and who is not limited by what we call reality.
Is your God in a box? Have you limited Him to only what you can understand, explain, or prove? I encourage you to worship the God who does the impossible. Trust the God who is both knowable and mysterious. Search out the eternal God who invites us to reason, yet calls us to believe.
With Gratitude, Pastor Jesse
