Boundaries

" The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot.
The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; indeed, I have a beautiful  inheritance."  

Psalm 16:5-6

The other day I went running on the road that leads toward Stone Lake.  I run out that way about once a week.  It is a nice road to run on, as it is paved, and after I go past the clinic there is very little traffic. 

I like the quiet.  There may be an occasional car or truck.  Usually the only thing making noise, besides the wind, are the occasional horses, cattle and deer.  And those animals mostly blend in with the scenery.  The landscape is forest and range land and those are the animals you expect to see in that environment.

While there is range along Stone Lake Road, it is not open range.  There are fences on both sides of the road, keeping the cattle and horses away from the vehicle traffic.

But on this day things were different.  I ran to Mundo Lake and then turned to come back to town.  I was about a mile or so into the return trip and I saw a cow, a large cow, feeding in the ditch along the road.  She was in the ditch, and on the wrong side of the fence. 

She hadn't been there on my way out and as I got closer she saw me, startled, and quickly moved back through a very large hole in the fence.  She joined three other cows standing just inside the fence. 

The fence had formed a boundary for the cattle.  It kept them in one place, their own place, and outside of the place used by others.  The fence kept the cattle inside their range and away from the cars and trucks traveling on the road.

But the fence had been broken and I could see what would tempt a cow to push through it to the other side.  The summer has been dry but the grass in the ditch was long and thick.  The fence was in place to protect the cows but they were tempted by something on the other side that was very appealing.

God puts boundaries into our lives, and the places He puts them in are good for us.  The psalmist goes so far as to say that God's boundaries are pleasant.  Things on the other side of His boundaries are sometimes so appealing.  They look so good and we yearn for them.  We may push hard, and find ways  through the fence.

Maturity as a Christian includes learning where God's boundaries are and trusting that He has placed them there for our good.  Those things on the other side, which look so good, are really harmful.  They harm our bodies, our hearts, and our souls. 

May you and I learn where God has placed boundaries for our lives.  He's put them there for our good and His glory.

Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.