Unhooked: Holy in a Hookup Worldნიმუში

Day 10: Boundaries

Read

Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be. –Luke 12:34

Connect

In a village, a man with leprosy crossed paths with Christ.

“Lord,” he said, “if you are willing, you can make me clean.”

And Jesus healed him—but he also had a request: don’t tell anyone what happened.

But despite Jesus’ instructions, the report of his power spread even faster, and vast crowds came to hear him preach and to be healed of their diseases. But Jesus often withdrew to the wilderness for prayer. (Luke 5:15-16)

Throughout Scripture, He often pushed past people who wanted access to Him. The crowds that surrounded Him had demands, but sometimes He didn’t stop to meet them.

His “yes” to one person necessitated His “no” to many others. His commitments came first because he valued the people He had committed to—He treasured them. If He agreed to make someone a priority, He did it. He had boundaries. And so should you.

Throughout those times of prayer, He drew strength from the Father in Heaven. He protected that priority, and put His relationship with the Father above all else.

In dating and marriage, your value implies that priorities are important—that like Jesus, a person who has an intimate relationship with you ought to value you enough to protect it with boundaries.

Yes, they have the power to do whatever they want whenever they’d like, but their commitments determine whether they actually should.

So do yours.

So far, throughout this series, your focus has been on your single most important commitment—to God.

And He wants you to know just how committed He is to you, too.

His love for you is constant. He’s all yours and you are His.

Pray

Thank You, God, for protecting our relationship by making it a priority. I’m sorry for the times I’ve neglected my commitment to You. Our relationship is important to me, too, and I’m honored and excited to protect it by putting You first.

Reflect

What happens when one person in a relationship doesn’t make the relationship a priority? What boundaries could you set to protect a relationship that matters to you now or in the future? How does this apply to your relationship with God?