Chapter 5 - Ruled By Grace...
What do an elephant in a zoo, a new born baby and a person on a shopping spree have in common?
Without boundaries they can cause a great deal of harm, either to themselves or others!
What do you and I have in common with the group above?
Boundaries are great for us too!
Boundaries must be important, Dr. John Townsend and Dr. Henry Cloud have convinced millions to buy their book "Boundaries" with that idea! But in reality, we all need to understand that to live out life with others, we must learn to play fair and share. It's what most of us are taught young and it's based in the very principled laws that God gave Moses.
I also find it interesting that Andy points out the Israelites didn't have a government system of their own. I can identify with this idea when I talk to people who have no idea about Christianity. I am not appalled at the culture, please don't get me wrong, I know our culture is sinking to new lows, but if you lived in Corinth during the first century, you'd see similar dynamics as we see today.
Something else I find intriguing. The early founding fathers agreed on Christianity and the Bible as the driving force behind the new venture here in America. But they had their struggles since they were choosing to govern themselves for the first time instead of having a monarchy tell them how to proceed with their lives.
You can see this played out a little when you look at some of the titles we use for states, one that comes to mind is the "Quaker State", it's not just the name of an oil for cars. Pennsylvania was named that because it was primarily governed by Quakers. So if you were a Presbyterian you may have some trouble with some of the worship practices of the churches if you settled in that area.
But if you've ever entered in a new world, like when I joined the Sheriff's Office as a chaplain, you know there are "rules" you are unaware of. The Israelites were "unaware" of the rules they needed to live by. Rules can get muddled because of the way others have tried to use them or abuse them. Andy refers to this in the "honor your mother and father" illustration in this chapter. As I learned the "rules" at the jail, I had more freedom.
Since we can't live without rules, isn't amazing how God's grace gave the Israelites, and us, the freedom of rules? Isn't it so true, aren't many of your regrets tied to your crossing the line when it came to rules?
It's true for me...
Share an example of how "boundaries" kept you from or helped you in making a decision or life choice...
Sheila Stewart said:
on April 13, 2015 at 9:08am
As I've said before, I'm a rule follower most of the time. I was blessed to be born into a Christian family and to be taught about Jesus from a very early age. However, I knew that my Catholic neighbors did things differently and "worshipped idols", which was not something our family's denomination condoned. When I was in my first year of college I met a young man who I knew I wanted to marry after just a few dates. Imagine my shock and horror when I found that he was Catholic! I was afraid to tell my dad, because I thought he would make me stop seeing Paul, so I just didn't tell my parents. As we continued seeing each other I found that he had a very deep faith, and he invited me to attend church with him. I secretly went with him to mass on Saturday evenings and with my family to our church on Sunday mornings. As expected, my dad was upset when he found that I had kept a secret from him. But I learned how much my parents loved me and Paul during the next three years as we all prepared for our marriage and future children. I learned that Catholics don't worship idols and graven images, and that my faith could align with the Catholic teachings. I ultimately decided to join the Catholic church and have been married to Paul for 42 years! So, in this case, I chose to step outside the boundaries and learned that Catholicism was not that different from the Protestant faith I had grown up in.
Melissa Armstrong said:
on April 20, 2015 at 5:15pm
The law of God is actually an expression of God's grace. Have we, in the year 2015, gotten so far away from God's grace that we are truly unaware of the natural consequences of sin? Is this why the riots in the streets, the picketing (for lack of better word right now) in the streets when something isn't going our way, or passing laws just because...
I think we need to turn more to the 10 Commandments and back to the laws of God in order to straighten up the world we are living in now.
Ginny Soultz said:
on May 6, 2015 at 6:57pm
When I was a student at Taylor University (many years ago!!) I met a Ball State student. We talked about the differences between the "boundaries" at our 2 schools. The student said he could never go to Taylor because all the rules would drive him crazy. He asked if that was a problem for me. I actually laughed at his question--it never occurred to me to be bothered by the "boundaries" at Taylor, because none of them were any different from the Biblical guidelines I had decided to follow for myself. The student was incredulous at my answer. He didn't understand the freedom that healthy boundaries can give.
I think the 2 most powerful quotes from this chapter are the following: "God gave his law to humanity to accomplish an eternal purpose: to confront our sin and to demonstrate our need for a Savior." (p. 73) and "God has provided his law to enable us to maintain our freedom from sin and its consequences."
