When You’ve Crossed a Line You Never Thought You’d Cross | Boundaries
The Christian life is one of boundaries.
We see this in the Garden of Eden when God tells Adam and Eve they are free to eat from any tree except the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. We see it when the Israelites escape from Egypt into the wilderness and God gives Moses The 10 Commandments. We see it when Jesus preaches His “Sermon on the Mount,” teaching His disciples what it looks like to live in the Kingdom of God.
In each of these examples, we not only learn the boundaries set, we’re also given insight into the God who set them.
God sets boundaries for:
- our good
- our guidance
- our protection
- our growth
Even though God has given these limits—these boundaries—He has also still given us freedom.
Even though God has given us boundaries, He has also given us freedom.
In his letters to the Early Church, the Apostle Paul makes the argument that choosing to follow Christ (and therefore living within the boundaries He has set for us) is its own type of freedom because it’s infinitely a more abundant life than a life lived without Christ.
And this is true, but God has also given us the freedom to choose to leave His boundaries. But leaving these boundaries always comes with consequences.
In Luke 15:11-32, while teaching to a crowd of “tax collectors and sinners” and “Pharisees and scribes,” Jesus tells the parable of The Prodigal Son to teach us how God reacts when we leave the boundaries He has set for us.
The story begins with a son asking his father to give him his inheritance, which he then uses to leave home and then “squandered his estate with foolish living.” (v. 13)
In verses 13-19, we see the Prodigal Son experiencing the consequences of his choice to leave the boundaries of his father’s home: he’s penniless, starving, and has been forced to sell himself as a slave.
Question to Consider: When thinking about our regrets in life, how many can be traced back to stepping outside of the boundaries our Heavenly Father has set for us?
“The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I’m no longer worthy to be called your son.’” – Luke 15:21
While working feeding pigs (a job Jesus’ audience would have seen as one of the lowest occupations one could do), the son realizes that His father’s servants have a better life than he does. So he swallows his pride and heads back to his father’s estate.
In verses 20-24, we see the Prodigal Son humbly return to his father’s estate expecting judgment and disownment. Instead, his father runs out to greet him with compassion.
The father’s welcome teaches us that even when we’ve left God’s boundaries, He hasn’t left us. He’s earnestly waiting, calling out for us, and longing for our return—ready to welcome us back fully as His child.
God Meets Us Where We Are
But the story doesn’t end there. Jesus goes on to tell His audience, of which the most righteous of Jewish society were in attendance, that the Prodigal Son had an older brother who had never left the boundaries of his father’s estate.
When this oldest son learns of the celebration his father is throwing for the younger son who had left home and squandered all their father had given him, he’s angry.
The older brother’s jealous reaction to his brother’s return teaches us: we can be living righteously and yet be ignorant to the abundant joy and freedom that can be found within the boundaries God has set for us.
But notice in verse 28: just like the father ran out to meet the younger son who has been broken by his prodigal living, the father also goes out to meet the older son who is plagued with bitterness and he pleads with him.
Whether we are guilty of running far past the boundaries God has set for us or we’re not living the abundant life that can be found in those boundaries, our Heavenly Father will meet us where we are and invite us in.
Whether we are guilty of running far past the boundaries God has set for us or we’re not living the abundant life that can be found in those boundaries, our Heavenly Father will meet us where we are and invite us in.
So if today you find yourself far from God, know that you’re not too far gone, and that He wants to welcome you home. He sent His Son, Jesus, to pay for the consequences of your wandering so that you may be reconciled to life with Him.
And if you have already accepted life in Christ, but you’re not living in the freedom that can be found in the boundaries God has set for us—know that’s what He wants for you. Let go of the bitterness, the jealousy, or whatever else you’re holding onto; draw near to the Father, and experience true joy and the abundance that can only be found in a relationship with Him.
Find this article insightful? Share it on your favorite social media platform!
*based on the first message of Mt. Bethel’s “Boundaries” sermon series, delivered by Pastor Gaylyn Kelly. You can view the full sermon here.