“Boundary Markers-Part 3-Drawing God’s Line!”

Mark 1:29-39 “As soon as they left the synagogue, they went with James and John to the home of Simon and Andrew. Simon's mother-in-law was in bed with a fever and they told Jesus about her. So he went to her, took her hand and helped her up. The fever left her and she began to wait on them. That evening after sunset the people brought to Jesus all the sick and demon-possessed. The whole town gathered at the door, and Jesus healed many who had various diseases. He also drove out many demons, but he would not let the demons speak because they knew who he was. Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. Simon and his companions went to look for him, and when they found him, they exclaimed: "Everyone is looking for you!" Jesus replied, "Let us go somewhere else-to the nearby villages-so I can preach there also. That is why I have come." So he traveled throughout Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and driving out demons.”

When it comes to marking our boundaries what's appropriate and what's not? What's selfish and what's Godly? When is it okay to say no to things that are asked of us? When do we need to say yes to things that are asked of us? These are questions that people face everyday. These are questions that each of us faces as we live our lives.

Webster's gives only one definition, one line and this is it. A boundary is something that indicates a limit or extent. That's it-Something that indicates a limit or extent.

(1) Marking boundaries elicits all sorts of reactions.
-For some, the idea of boundaries is a fad concept that has gotten way too much press and they are not really interested that much.
-For others it is a welcomed concept, a very welcome concept as it allows for some sanity in the midst of life's busyness and in the midst of life's craziness.
-For many Christians setting boundaries and limits in our lives goes against what they believe God has called us to do-that is to go the extra mile, to love with an extra measure of grace, to give to others even when it somehow intrudes on our lives, or until we are completely given out.

(2) Christians must try to balance our desire to serve with other statements that we hear in our culture all the time.
-If you are going to have a healthy, emotional life, you need to set healthy boundaries.
-If you want to have successful relationships, you need to set healthy boundaries at the beginning.
-If you want to be happy in life, you need to be clear with your boundaries with others about what you will and you won't do.

Boundaries are essential to a healthy lifestyle. I know that for a fact and when I forget what those are that my life can kind of get a little bit out of whack at times. But I am really concerned that modern cultures definitions and ideas about boundaries are too inwardly focused. And I find myself wrestling with questions about a healthy perspective for us as believers.

(3) Knowing how to set boundaries that allow us to stay focused on God's will, rather than on our will and the will of those around us is essential. These questions always arise:
-How do we stay focused on God's will in the midst of a pull from our will and the will of those around us?
-How do we balance that call to serve with the need for self-preservation and limits?

I believe that the purpose of boundaries from a Christian perspective is not simply knowing our limits and saying yes or no to things that might or might not be healthy for us, but also and perhaps more importantly being able to say yes to those things in our lives that God is inviting us to be a part of. It's about recognizing our spiritual gifts and allowing them to influence our decisions about how we spend our time and our energy. It's about saying no to some things that may be good in order to make room in our lives to say yes to what is best. Ultimately, I think it’s about realizing that healthy boundaries in our lives as Christians are really not about us; rather they are about Jesus and his call on our lives.

It begins of Mark telling us of point early in Jesus' ministry when he was faced with many demands. Many, many demands on his time and his energy. Numerous expectations about what he should and shouldn't do and many people who misunderstood him, especially early on in his ministry. If we look at Verse 29 it says that as soon as they left the synagogue they went with James and John to the home of Simon and Andrew. Simon's mother-in-law was in bed with a fever and they told Jesus about her. So he went to her and took her hand and helped her up and the fever left her and she began to wait on them. That evening after sunset the people brought to Jesus all the sick and demon possessed. He also drove out many demons, but he would not let the demons speak because they knew who he was. To say that Jesus was busy is an understatement, isn't it? Jesus right at the end of Sabbath or during the Sabbath, healed Simon's mother-in-law and just after sunset, remember Sabbath ends at sunset for the Jewish tradition, when the Sabbath was over people started to come to Jesus in droves.

One commentator suggests that this had to be an absolutely exhausting experience for Jesus. He points out that the scripture doesn't say this he is just hypothesizing about this. But what we know from scripture is that on some occasions at least, miracles were accompanied by a direct flow of energy from Jesus or whoever was doing the healing directly to the person being healed. Exhausting, right? Remember that Jesus was human, while being fully God, he was fully human and he had those moments when he needed to pull away, break away from the crowds and rest to rekindle his energy for the next day.

Verse 35 says very early in the morning while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place where he prayed. Some suggest that this is actually we say very early in the morning, literally very early in the morning like the middle of the night. The end of a busy day before the start of another busy day, Jesus withdraws to a quiet place and in that quiet place he prays. Mark doesn't tell us what he prayed about. It's not really crucial. But the fact that he tells us about Jesus praying is crucial because of what it teaches us about how we approach life's demands and how we set up appropriate boundaries. Even Jesus who was God, in human flesh took the time to remove himself from those around him and pray.
                                                                           
Jesus knew how important it was to center Himself on what his father wanted for him and he knew that the only way to do that was to spend time with the Father. And so he prayed.

What a great model for our own lives at a time when Jesus was likely feeling a bit overwhelmed by the tasks before him and the people making demands on his time, he withdraws to seek God's will, to maintain such a close relationship, to stay so connected that he would have no doubt about what it was he was called to do. And it was that time in prayer, when he pulled away, that led him to respond the way he did when Simon and the others come looking for him to tell him probably what he already knew.

“Simon and his companions went to look for him, and when they found him, they exclaimed: ‘Everyone is looking for you!’”

I love the disciples for that because they come thinking they are bring this revolutionary revelation kind of news. Jesus clearly knew that everybody was looking for him. I mean he had pulled away from these crowds who had been lining up at the door the night before. But look at Jesus' response this time.

Remember yesterday he responded by healing many, many people. However, in verse 38, Jesus says,
“Let us go somewhere else-- to the nearby villages-- so I can preach there also. That is why I have come.”

So he traveled throughout Galilee preaching in their synagogues and driving out demons. It's kind of surprising isn't it to think that Jesus would respond that way? Imagine the disciple's reactions. They must have been puzzled by his direction or his call to move on when they didn't think the business at hand was done. But Jesus had spent that time in prayer and he knew what his Father's will was and he knew what was best, not just what was good at that moment. So he moved on and he continued doing what he had been doing and that's the other intriguing part about this. He just moved on to do it in a different place. Saying no to what's good, making room for what's best.
-Are we so connected to the will of the Father that we know when to respond at what seems to be the right thing to do and to move on to what God is calling us to do?
-Are we so in touch with God's will and our gifts that we are willing to do as Jesus did and follow God's leading towards what’s best even if our motives are misunderstood?
-Are we so connected to the Father that we can't help but always turn around and check to make sure that he sets the boundary markers for us, and to make sure that we do what we should with them?
In closing, three things are desperately needed if are to know how to draw God’s line and stay within His boundary markers.
-We need His guidance and direction in every territory of our lives.
-We need to be able to discern what is best in God's eyes in every situation and not just what seems good or right to us.
-We must also learn how to say an emphatic “No” to anything that pulls us away from the grace of God and causes us to form our own boundary markers.