Demarcation

We talk about boundaries a lot these days, usually in reference to teaching people how to treat us.

I'm all for that thinking; really, I am.

I spent a significant part of my life having open boundaries, making not-so-great choices, and allowing people to treat me however they pleased.

I think we can all agree it is wise to create boundaries that keep us safe and well cared for.

But those aren't the boundaries I'm talking about today.

I'm talking about demarcation, where we draw boundaries around our minds, hearts, and souls of what we will do, what we will allow, and who we want to become.

We must draw a line in the sand and protect what Jesus fought so hard to save.

One side of the line is the fullness of God; the other is emptiness.

On this side of the line is God's love and protection and the opportunity for peace and joy.

Here, we consider our choices and determine whether they will bring us closer to God or farther away.

Here, we believe who God says we are and trust Him when He tells us who we can be and act accordingly.

Here, we treat ourselves and others with love, dignity, kindness, honesty, respect, and optimism.

Here, God's voice is the loudest sound we hear.

Here, hope is alive and well.

On that side of the line is suffering, self-focus, self-loathing, fear, and anguish.

There, we listen to the voices of fear and degradation. We believe we are beneath everyone and are unworthy of God's love, so we behave in ways that bring shame and regret.

There, we only focus on ourselves, either with fake boasting or long-term lamenting. We are in-secure, relying only on our strength as we wobble our way around, following the voices of fear and pessimism.

There, the voice of the enemy is all we hear, calling to us sin and move further away from the one thing we long for in the depth of our soul - a God who saves us, loves us and never gives up on us.

There, hopelessness fills every part of us, and slowly, we slip into our pits of despair, crying out to God to save us.

Each choice we make brings us to one side or the other.

It's really easy to let things slide.

I mean, come on, a little isn't a big deal.

A little puff, a little drink, a little scroll, a little bet, a little peek.

But those little choices, those little steps, inch us to the other side if we aren't careful.

Who's side do we want to be on?

The good news is that no matter where we are, God is ready, willing, and able to find us and bring us back to Him.

I, for one, am just tired of the long walk to go way over there, only to have to take the long crawl back to where I started.

My knees just can't take it anymore.

So, I've decided to stay on this side with God and let his love and protection lead the way.

I hope to go so far that I can't even see that line anymore.

Come with me, my friend. We can do this together, one step at a time.

God is with us, always and forever.

Romans 8: 5-7

Those who think they can do it on their own end up obsessed with measuring their own moral muscle but never get around to exercising it in real life. Those who trust God's action in them find that God's Spirit is in them—living and breathing God! Obsession with self in these matters is a dead end; attention to God leads us out into the open, into a spacious, free life. Focusing on the self is the opposite of focusing on God. Anyone completely absorbed in self ignores God and ends up thinking more about self than God.

Ephesians 4:31

Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ, God forgave you.

Romans 6: 12-14

That means you must not give sin a vote in the way you conduct your lives. Don't give it the time of day. Don't even run little errands that are connected with that old way of life. Throw yourselves wholeheartedly and full-time—remember, you've been raised from the dead!—into God's way of doing things. Sin can't tell you how to live. After all, you're not living under that old tyranny any longer. You're living in the freedom of God.