Longing to Belong Chapter 3: Boundaries of Belonging

From Chapter Three of Longing to Belong

Boundaries are that which are established to protect the integrity and function of the individual parts and the whole.
From the beginning of time, God established boundaries to protect our relationships with him and with one another. As we discussed in chapter one, we hear in the story of Adam and Eve, the beginning of the Divine-human dynamic, that God establishes boundaries and we tend to step outside of them thus threatening our relationships with God and one another.
Freedom in the Boundaries
Too often, we are deceived in thinking that boundaries only serve to restrict us instead of acknowledging the freedom that comes from life within the boundaries. As God was forming the Israelites to be his people and preparing them to enter the Promised Land, God gave them clearly established boundaries that would define and protect Who they were and Whose they were. In obedience to God, Moses told the people:
“These are the commands, laws, and regulations that the Lord your God told me to teach you so you may obey them in the land you are about to enter and occupy, and so you and your children and grandchildren might fear the Lord your God as long as you live. If you obey all his laws and commands, you will enjoy a long life… Be careful to obey. Then all will go well with you, and you will have many children in the land flowing with milk and honey, just as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, promised you.”
Deuteronomy 6:1-3 NLT