Balance + Boundaries | August 4th, 2024

Genesis 1:1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep.

In the beginning the universe was formless and void. There was no order.  There was no life. There was no value. It was chaos. Yet God was attracted to the chaos to bring order. God creates a universe not haphazardly, but perfectly balanced. God takes what had no boundaries and gives boundaries. We see from the very beginning that our Creator is a God of balance and boundaries.  He is a God of order, not chaos.  He is a God of balance, not imbalance. Everything God did, does, and will do, has order.
 
This New Series called “Balance + Boundaries” is meant to help us say yes to the things of God and no to the things that don’t align with this purpose in our lives.  Much of this series will be based on the book Boundaries by Dr. Cloud and Dr. Townsend.  We will be hitting a few of the highlights of this Biblical based book that helps us recognize our need for boundaries in our lives.  You might be asking: “Why do boundaries matter?”  Through this series we will talk about creation and how the God of the universe is all about balance and boundaries. We will also discuss Jesus, Emmanuel, God with us, this month who models balance and boundaries in his life and ministry.  And last but not least, we will cover the Holy Spirit, God in us, who leads us to balance and boundaries if we have the courage to listen to his guidance, scripture, and Gospel Community. Many of our limitations aren’t based on our lack of time, money, and energy.  It is because we don’t invest them in the right areas, which is what a balanced life would help us do.  
 
In the Creation story, God’s creation has perfect balance.  Planet Earth is the only known planet in our Milky Way Galaxy and universe that is perfectly placed to support life. Our position, spin rate, atmosphere, and large moon are all essential and perfectly balanced in order to support human life.  As he created Adam and Eve he said it was very good. Even our bodies were created balanced and must stay balanced to work correctly, but He gives us something he doesn’t give the rest of creation – a soul.  He gives us the ability to choose to worship him, where everything else created already points to Him. 

Genesis 2:15-17 | Adam is created outside of the Garden and God places him there.  God also creates the Tree of Life.  Here, we see God’s first boundary – do not eat of it.  His boundary wasn’t to keep something from Adam, but to protect him from the dangers of it.  The sneaky enemy comes in Genesis 3 to convince Adam and Eve that the restrictions God gave was because he didn’t love them.  He didn’t want them to have fun or to be equal to him.  Fast forward to today and his tactics are the same.  Let’s look at three myths of why we don’t establish boundaries.  

Myth #1: If I establish boundaries, I am being Selfish.
We have been told boundaries are selfish.  But boundaries are essential in order to be good stewards.  Setting boundaries doesn;t keep us from loving others in Jesus names, it gives us a great ability to serve and bless others.  Jesus couldn’t heal everyone if we was going to be a good steward with the time the Father gave him here.  

Myth #2 | If I set boundaries, I will hurt others.
Many times we sacrifice our boundaries on the altars of others.  We believe our "no" will harm them.  We believe that boundaries cause tension and difficulties.  They might, but as we learned in James 1- there are times people need those challenges in order to grow their faith.  

Myth #3 | If I set boundaries, I am trapped
Too often we think of boundaries more like walls than fences.  If we create walls – we are indeed trapped.  And there are those who create bunkers- they hide there.  Boundaries are more like fences that have gates, to let the bad things out and the good things in.  And, our boundaries will change as life and seasons change as well.  
 
What boundaries do you need to be establishing to be a better steward of what God has given you?