Blog

Just because people say it all the time doesn’t make it true.

Case in point: “You can be anything you want!”

You wouldn’t bat an eyelash if you heard someone exclaim that.  But it’s not true, or at least it’s not the whole truth.

Of course, there’s a positive aspect to the “you can be anything you want” kind of sentiment.  For example, if you as a parent are a person of color, you’ll want to encourage your children not to allow racial barriers to keep them from achieving all that they can.  In this case, “you can be anything you want” is roughly equivalent to, “Don’t let anyone get in your way.”  Good advice!

There are some problems lurking here beneath the surface, however.  The Bible tells us that the only unlimited being in the universe is, in fact, the one that transcends the universe, namely the Lord himself.  Our creator is limitless, but as created beings, we’re the opposite.  We face limits all the time.

Sometimes, limits placed upon us stem from the fallen horizon in the sense that it’s sin that erects barriers around people and people groups.  Broadly speaking, we ought to identify and overcome fallen horizon limits.  These are bad limits.

Circumscriptions tethered the creational horizon, on the other hand, and even if we bump against them, are intended by God for our good.  The Lord has made us to be finite beings, and that’s ok.

Here’s a simple case.  During my busy periods, I wish that I could be two places (or more) at once, and I grow easily frustrated if I have more to do than time in which to do it.  With the Spirit’s help, in those instances, it’s good for me to take a breath and remember that as a finite creature, I’m properly constrained by time and place under the auspices of a sovereign God.  I should relax!

On the flip side, an overbearing impulse to transcend natural limits can cause anxiety and damage––and we’re living that reality right now.

Let me count some ways.  Isn’t it the case that various ones of us can tend to believe that we shouldn’t be limited:

• In our optionality?
• In our natural resources?
• By time?
• By our genders and sexual proclivities?

To the extent that we’ll answer any of those questions in the negative, we’ll begin to start doing wonky things.

I recognize that there can be a danger associated with too easily living within limits that will turn us into passive, quietistic people.  We should be wary, though, of the equal but opposite danger.

Acceptance isn’t always tantamount to relinquishing our agency.  Sometimes it’s just that—accepting our finitude.  By God’s grace, the better we master that disposition, the more peaceful, generous, and loving we’ll become.

Share