We are in the middle of a sermon series entitled Get Up that Gray is preaching. Joseph is instructed by an angel to get up and go to Egypt in order to escape the violence of Herod and when the threat had passed to get up and return home. Jesus commands an invalid at the pools of Bethesda to get up and enter into a strange new ambulatory world.

Both of these stores have me thinking of the dynamic of out of the box thinking. You have probably heard or used this phrase, out of the box thinking on numerous occasions. Typically, it is referring to doing something different, radical and entering into a paradigm shift. The gospels are a prime example of out of the box thinking and living!

I came upon the illustration below that illustrates what out of the box thinking and doing might look like when following Jesus.

I especially like following Jesus includes taking naps in boats. At our JCPC 25^th anniversary our Presbytery Executive, Rev. Aisha Brooks-Lytle and I were talking about a theology of rest and now I have the perfect excuse to get a boat...or maybe I'll work at taking a nap. Following Jesus should have its perks!

Prayer for Today

Loving God, help us have the mind of Christ so that we will think outside of the box and experience your grace on the road less traveled. Amen.