Boundaries. Ugh… When I was younger, I would often shutter or draw up my nose just thinking about those. I was always the girl that said “when I get older and move out of my parent’s house, I’m going to be free. I will be able to do anything that I want.”

I did not grow up in church, but that did not mean that I felt held back. That did not mean that there were no rules I had to follow or boundary lines that I could not cross. I did not always like that. I wanted to figure out the world on my own. I wanted to be able to live without boundaries unless I put them up myself.

It was not until I was older that I realized boundaries are not a bad thing.

A boundary line is something that is put up to separate two things. It can be a river, a forest, or even a wall. But a boundary does not just have to be physical.

There is one important boundary line that we recognize as Christians, and that’s the line that separates us from the world.

When we are baptized in Jesus Name and filled with the Holy Ghost, we cross that line between living for the world, into living for God. As we grow in Christ, we draw closer to the presence of God, and father away from that boundary line.

Our first experience with God may have been at that line, but the fullness of God does not dwell there. We are not called to live on that line. We are called to follow God closer and closer each day.

Boundary lines are not places to live. They are there to say “Hey, you’re going too far; turn around the other way; you don’t belong here.” Boundary lines are places of warning. A place that we say “I may have crossed that area on my way in, but that is not a place I can go back to. There’s nothing for me there.”

Boundary lines can sometimes be referred to as no man’s land. Instead of a physical barrier, it is a plot of land that separates two places. These areas are known to be places of war. You are living in a war zone, and the battle is for your soul.

The danger of living on the boundary line is that there is no safety there. 

When we travel to the line, it makes it that much easier to cross the line. And, once that line has been crossed, it is so much harder to get back to the place we’re supposed to be in God.

In my life, I have boundaries set up because there are just some temptations that I can’t win against. I’m just not strong enough. And I’d be a fool to dwell in a place where I am constantly tempted of certain things.

We are ignorant to think that we can fight every temptation and win. There are some temptations that the bible says flee from. It does not say stand and fight. It says to run away! And running does not make you weak, it makes you wise.

We have to build our boundaries and run far away from the line.

If you struggle with something, get out of its presence. That might take turning off the tv, deleting some music, quit hanging around certain people or going to certain places. Leave those things at the line, and get as close as you can to the feet of Jesus.

The Bible didn’t say we, as Christians, are just a dim candlestick. It says we are the light of a world, a city on a hill that cannot be hidden.

We are not a city that sits on the line between good and evil. We are a city lit up on a hill for everyone to see. We must always remember that the boundary line is not what was meant for us. That’s where the lukewarm dwell. The line is there for our safety, but we must live far away from it so that the world can see the light within us.

Kiana Gilchrist is from Anderson, South Carolina at attends Sanctuary of Praise. She has been writing since she could form words together. Writing has been a way to collect her thoughts and escape from the troubles of life. She enjoys writing articles and essays on various topics. She currently has a blog where she shares articles about whatever comes to her heart, and about my experience in the Mission field. She is in the process of publishing a book of poetry.

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