These Walls Were Built From Pain
My friend, H, gave me a wonderful cd by Jenny & Tyler, and it is super fantastic. I have been enjoying listening to it a lot, and I think they are one of my favorite groups. The title for this post came from one of their songs, and it kind of has to do with what we talked about in book study last night. The chapter was on boundaries with men which is definitely something that I feel needs to be talked about more.
C shared that she has some fences/walls in her life that she is learning she needs to let down. And I think that could probably be true for all of us. The reason that this song lyric hit me was because most of us have walls because of something painful that has happened to us.
We were discussing this last night and determined that with different people we have different types of fences. There are a couple of people in my life that the fence between me and them would make a maximum security prison look wimpy. Then there are some people that I just have a short two foot picket fence with them.
And the type of fence that I have with someone has a lot to do with what my past relationship with them has been like. The people I have the first type of fence with are people who have severely hurt me. They have caused me a lot of pain, and I don't want them in my life. I don't want them to be able to hurt me in that way again, so I make sure that they cannot. These walls were built from pain. I am human. I make mistakes. But there are times when having these type of walls are a good thing. It is good to have boundaries.
However, just imagine if that's what God was like with us. I know that I personally have grieved Him and hurt Him more than I could ever imagine, and yet He puts no wall between me and Him. In fact, He works to break down the walls that I try to erect between me and Him. I am not saying that we should allow people who hurt us un-walled access to our lives. As I stated before it is good to have boundaries, but I am saying that I am glad that God does not do that with us. I am so glad that He puts no boundaries or walls or fences between me and Him.
There used to be a curtain between God and people in His temple. And then something incredible happened. A tiny baby was born to a virgin named Mary. And He was called Emmanuel, God with us, and He was born to rescue His people. He said and did many amazing things. And then the unthinkable happened - He was crucified. This great man who was supposed to be the Rescuer of the people was betrayed and convicted and beaten and mocked and spit on and crucified.
He hung on a cross for many hours as people mocked Him, and He endured the cross. He endured the betrayal and the pain and the mocking, and He even endured being forsaken by God the Father.
And then the awesome thing happened - "Then Jesus cried again with a loud voice and breathed His last. At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom." (Matthew 27:50,51) When Jesus died, He destroyed for all time the things that separate us from God. There is no fence between us and God. There is no wall. There is no curtain because of what Jesus did. He has freed us to be able to come into the presence of God and to benefit from the gift of His presence.
That is the point of the chapter from book study. Walls and fences and boundaries are good because they provide a safe framework in which we are able to enjoy the benefits of offering each other strength in a pure and holy way.
God destroyed the fence that kept us from Him, and He set up a new fence. He gave us a new law and a new covenant. And when we live in this new covenant with these new fences, we are free to enjoy the benefits of a life lived in His presence.
C shared that she has some fences/walls in her life that she is learning she needs to let down. And I think that could probably be true for all of us. The reason that this song lyric hit me was because most of us have walls because of something painful that has happened to us.
We were discussing this last night and determined that with different people we have different types of fences. There are a couple of people in my life that the fence between me and them would make a maximum security prison look wimpy. Then there are some people that I just have a short two foot picket fence with them.
And the type of fence that I have with someone has a lot to do with what my past relationship with them has been like. The people I have the first type of fence with are people who have severely hurt me. They have caused me a lot of pain, and I don't want them in my life. I don't want them to be able to hurt me in that way again, so I make sure that they cannot. These walls were built from pain. I am human. I make mistakes. But there are times when having these type of walls are a good thing. It is good to have boundaries.
However, just imagine if that's what God was like with us. I know that I personally have grieved Him and hurt Him more than I could ever imagine, and yet He puts no wall between me and Him. In fact, He works to break down the walls that I try to erect between me and Him. I am not saying that we should allow people who hurt us un-walled access to our lives. As I stated before it is good to have boundaries, but I am saying that I am glad that God does not do that with us. I am so glad that He puts no boundaries or walls or fences between me and Him.
There used to be a curtain between God and people in His temple. And then something incredible happened. A tiny baby was born to a virgin named Mary. And He was called Emmanuel, God with us, and He was born to rescue His people. He said and did many amazing things. And then the unthinkable happened - He was crucified. This great man who was supposed to be the Rescuer of the people was betrayed and convicted and beaten and mocked and spit on and crucified.
He hung on a cross for many hours as people mocked Him, and He endured the cross. He endured the betrayal and the pain and the mocking, and He even endured being forsaken by God the Father.
And then the awesome thing happened - "Then Jesus cried again with a loud voice and breathed His last. At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom." (Matthew 27:50,51) When Jesus died, He destroyed for all time the things that separate us from God. There is no fence between us and God. There is no wall. There is no curtain because of what Jesus did. He has freed us to be able to come into the presence of God and to benefit from the gift of His presence.
That is the point of the chapter from book study. Walls and fences and boundaries are good because they provide a safe framework in which we are able to enjoy the benefits of offering each other strength in a pure and holy way.
God destroyed the fence that kept us from Him, and He set up a new fence. He gave us a new law and a new covenant. And when we live in this new covenant with these new fences, we are free to enjoy the benefits of a life lived in His presence.
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