Live Like the Lid is
Off
By Carolyn
Hulliberger
“…I came so they can
have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of.”
John
10:10 (The Message, paraphrase)
A
number of years ago, Sony made a commercial for a game system that depicted
fleas in a jar. The fleas were shown to be jumping all around in the jar, some
even soaring out of the top. A lid is put on the jar for three days, then
removed. The fleas no longer have the limitations of the lid. But guess what?
The fleas no longer jump higher than the height of the lid. They have been
trained, and don’t bother to attempt to go beyond, although no restrictions
remain. And their offspring? They stay at the lowered height, never venturing
above the top of the jar. (1)
Sometimes,
we humans are no smarter than the fleas. We put restrictions on ourselves and
our lives, never venturing beyond the familiar. Or perhaps we did try something
new, only to bang our heads and simply gave up. Maybe we were even told by
others there was a limit, so instead of pushing at a boundary, we took their
word for granted and never attempted to venture out.
But
what if we were smarter? What if we lived like the lid was off of our lives,
similar to:
- Peter and Andrew, the disciples who left their family fishing business to train with Jesus
- Ruth, who left her homeland to support her mother-in-law
- Esther, who was bold enough to approach a king, risking death
- The boy with a lunch, who handed it over to be the source of feeding thousands
- Paul and Barnabas…leaving Jerusalem and taking the message of the Messiah to the world
I
don’t know what the label says on your lid…what might be containing you. There
are lots of lids. Some are labeled “condemnation”...”victim”… “stupid”…
“fat”…“ugly.” Mine is labeled “fear.” Fear of ridicule, or losing someone I
love, or losing personal safety. But like the paraphrase of John 10:10 above
says, Jesus Christ came to give us life. It is a precious and important gift. Don’t
let your lid keep you from exploring life.
GOING DEEPER:
1.
Does your life have a lid? What label is written on it?
2. Think of how you can help someone struggling to remove their own "lid."
2. Think of how you can help someone struggling to remove their own "lid."
FURTHER READING:
(1)
To see the commercial, follow this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GlpjA-QgmQM
Along
with caring for her family, Carolyn works as an insurance representative and
serves in Oakwood Church’s Student Ministries with an awesome group of junior
high girls.
