I trust you’ll discover Christmas and new birth every day of life’s journey!
Fences. Schedules. Building permits. The Garden of Eden. These guidelines share a code of conduct.
Fences offer protection for people and animals. Schedules and curfews identify starts and finishes. Building permits and inspections ensure safety. The Garden of Eden produced growth when it was tended according to the season.
Space. Time. Creation. Boundaries and freedom harmoniously cohabitate when we respect parameters.
Sometimes when I explore earth’s options, I’m disappointed when I see or sense a sign that stops me in my tracks. “No entry beyond this point.” I’m restless when I’m engrossed in an activity and need to pause before I finish. Space, time, and resource limitations remind me of life’s constraints. I can discover freedom when I flow with guidelines set for my benefit and growth.
God gave Adam and Eve the entire Garden to discover. He had one caveat for His all-inclusive resort. They could indulge in everything, but were instructed to stay away from one tree. They tested God’s nearly limitless invitation, but chose that tree’s fruit. All creation took the fall.
In Joshua 6, his army prepared to invade the city of Jericho. They marched around the city six times and on their seventh time round, they blew trumpets until the city walls collapsed.
Joshua instructed his army to overtake all people and possessions, but to leave devoted things that were sacred for the Lord’s treasury (Josh. 6:18). The army gained permission to remove all ungodly things, but were commanded to leave the silver, gold, bronze, and iron for God’s purposes.
The wall needed to come down to make room for freedom to rise. Boundaries shifted so freedom could be restored. Freedom and boundaries can coexist for the greater good.
Respecting walls, gateways and passages of time,
Christina
“But keep away from the devoted things, so that you will not bring about your own destruction by taking any of them. Otherwise, you will make the camp of Israel liable to destruction and bring trouble on it.” (Josh. 6:18).