Boundaries Class

We are attending a class here on campus, sort of a continuing education class for houseparents. The class deals with the issue of boundaries and uses the book Boundaries by Dr. Henry Cloud and Dr. John Townsend. The book (and class) works with people to learn to say no, set limits, keep people from taking advantage of them and foster healthy relationships. The foundation for the idea of good boundaries is the relationship that we have with God and He with us. I blogged about this back in February when we were just beginning the class. At the time, I didn't know much about the class or what we would be studying.
The class yesterday talked some of God respecting our boundaries. Think of it. We can say “no” to God and He will honor that. He will not force us into a relationship with Him that we don’t wish to have. He won’t bother us if we don’t want to be bothered. This is a great example of God respecting our boundaries.
In the same way, God has boundaries that we need to respect. To me, one of the most foundational boundaries is that God doesn’t want us to have a relationship with any other god. He wishes for the relationship we have with Him to be exclusive or not at all. If one thinks about that for a bit, it’s not at all an unreasonable request. Husbands and wives have promised exclusive relationships to each other for centuries.
I’m not in the business of selling anything, but this study is one of the best I’ve seen come from the Christian community in many years. It is timely and pertinent. It is down-to-earth and pragmatic. It is understandable and clear. And it gets out into the open a topic that many prefer, for whatever reason, to keep in secret.
This study is redefining my relationship with God in a positive way. It is also providing some possible answers to some questions that I’ve had as well as questions that others have asked me about God for many years. Exactly what does “God desires a relationship with me,” mean? Why does God insist on an exclusive relationship? Isn’t that being a little presumptuous? If God loves us, why doesn’t He rescue us from suffering and pain? Why does God insist on monogamous marriage relationships? Why does God allow us to go our own way and not stop us? Why does evil exist? You can probably add your own to this list.
In any event, if you can, read the book. Better yet, participate in or initiate a study of this material. I think you’ll find, like I did, that we have a lot to learn about God and our relationship with Him.