Boundaries, barricades and bumps
Good day to you and Happy New Year!! At long last the holiday “big three” is behind us and we can return to normal life, whatever that might be. The new year offers each of us a time to readjust and to realign our thinking, planning and goals. Let me stop at this point and interject a bit of reality. Actually all that has happened is that a calendar page turned.. It really is no different than going from July 31, to August 1. My point is you do not have to wait until the New Year to resolve to do better, or differently, or whatever. You can try to better yourself at anytime, even during the middle of a month. Again, I do not want to “throw cold water,” but will 2011 be any better than 2010? That is yet to be seen, but one thing is for sure, as we travel down Interstate 2011, we will encounter boundaries, barricades, and bumps. How we handle those encounters will determine how our journey proceeds. With that being the case, let’s briefly examine each.
A boundary is very simply a dividing line. It can be visible, such as the white line dividing your lane from the car beside you, or it can be invisible, such as a property line. Even though many boundaries are easy to cross, they do serve a purpose and are beneficial to us when respected. Boundaries are not hard to recognize if we exercise our God-given common sense. Let me give you an example. Several years ago Bess and I were in Honolulu and like many visitors we spent some time on Waikiki Beach. I had been in the Atlantic Ocean and The Gulf of Mexico and I wanted to put my feet into the Pacific. However, I am a poor swimmer, so Bess decided to go in first to see what it was like. On her second step, the ocean floor dropped of and the water was over her head. Bess is an excellent swimmer and could recover, but I would have been in trouble. Beside all that, the under current was very strong and even she began to struggle. The lifeguard stood and was ready to go in, but she made it out on her own. Had I crossed the boundary, I would have been known as former Pastor Cooper. Boundaries are there for our benefit and must be recognized and respected. The boundary line was where the beach ended and the water began. Although it was moving in and out, it was quite easy to figure out where it was.
Barricades are also dividing lines, but they are always visible and breaching them can have disastrous, even deadly consequences. A good example would be a traffic barricade put up at the end of a street to keep you from driving down it. Think of a parade going down the main street without barricades blocking the side streets. The end result would be catastrophic to say the least. Barricades are sometime a nuisance as they impede our progress, however no thinking or decent person wants to harm someone else, so we respect the barricade. Respecting barricades can also keep us from harm.
Next comes bumps. Bumps can be set on purpose, or they can be quite unintended. A planned bump for example could be a speed bump. It is designed to slow you down. This point was made clear enough to me the other day while I was driving through the Gulf Coast Village property. Their speed bumps are nearly as high as a curb, and seem to be spaced out about every 10 feet. They were annoying, but they worked! I kept at a snail’s pace. The signs said 10 mph and the bumps enforced it. Some bumps are unplanned, like potholes. Those of us from the north understand potholes. Some say they are caused by the freezing of the roadbed then the thawing. I think they were originally invented by Firestone so that you would need a front end alignment and a new tire. Obviously they were not, but the alignment and tire scenario do result frequently from hitting one. As with boundaries and barricades, bumps can be beneficial if respected.
Sometime God sends boundaries, barricades, and bumps into our lives as His way of guiding us through our journey called living. The boundaries are set by God Himself. They can be found in God’s instruction manual for life called The Bible. If you cross a boundary, that is known as sin. God does not give boundaries to be a “mean old man;” He gives them for our benefit. The same goes with barricades. The LORD places them in our way to block us from a catastrophe. To cross one is called rebellion and it always invites disaster — including judgment, the worst disaster of all. Again, the Bible tells you how to avoid such calamities.
Finally, the Lord places bumps along the way in order to slow us down so that we will not violate boundaries or crash through barricades. Respect them, use them for the purpose God intended; it just might save your sanity, or your life. If you would like to discuss it further, please feel free to call. My contact information can be found at the end of this article. Next month we will look at the boundaries, barricades, and bumps placed by us.
Victor Cooper is Pastor at The Friendship Harmony Baptist Church, meeting at the Flamingo Bay Clubhouse every Sunday Morning at 10 a.m. The clubhouse is located at the corner of Curlew Drive and Stringfellow Road. For more information you may call 283-8331. Be sure to follow Pastor Vic’s weekly blog called Monday Morning With Pastor Vic. It can be found at www.preachercooper.com.