Coloring Inside The Lines

One of my earliest and fondest memories as a child is when my dad would sit with me at the kitchen table and we would color together in one of my coloring books. It was a special "father/daughter" time for the two of us.

My father and I share many similar personality traits - and maybe some of them originated with these coloring times - but one thing we both share is the strong desire to stay "within the borders" (my father was the Chief of Police in our local township, so staying within the rules was inherent). As I reflect on our times at the table, I realize that my coloring books were a display of my approach to life. In the ritual of coloring, the first thing daddy and I would do was select the colors to boldly outline each object in the picture. By identifying these borders and marking them strongly with my crayon first, it made it easier to "stay in the lines" when I was coloring the rest of the object. Once the object was outlined, I could carefully color the inside in softer shades. I loved working inside the borders - shading along the edges, but never going outside the lines. In fact, when I would take my completed artwork to my mother, the first thing I would point out is how perfectly daddy and I stayed inside the lines...

So, from a very early age, I was trained to approach life from the outside-in. I always check the borders first. As a teenager, I would see exactly how close I could come to those borders...and unfortunately many times extended beyond the lines ;) ... but once the borders were firmly identified I would travel within. Even as an early Christian, in my very early learning stage, I was most interested in the "rules". What does being a Christian mean? What are the borders to my new identity? It has taken many years, and much soul searching for me to realize that this is a backwards approach to a life with Christ.

When I became truly baptized as a follower of Christ, this meant that Christ is abiding within me, He is inside of me and the borders are not completely identified. I must now approach life from the inside out, erasing the borders and completely relinquishing the control or direction to Christ. Tough stuff to do for one who has spent many years as a border identifier!

John 14:20 says: On that day you will realize that I am in my father, and you are in me and I am in you.

So, my coloring must start inside the object and work out to the edges, without worry of coloring inside the lines, because the borders will be identified by Christ. I can't control the edges anymore...