“Too many rules, no thanks.” That’s the response I’ve heard countless times when sharing Jesus with unbelievers. Those who don’t know Him (and even some who think they do) often regard Him as little more than a bunch of “Thou Shall Nots”. Or maybe you’ve heard a teenager or young adult say something like, “I’ll get serious about Jesus when I’m older, but right now I want to have ‘fun’.” I get it. That used to be my response to following Him. I thought following Jesus meant going to church on Sundays, and willingly living a dull life because all the “good things” were a sin. Seriously, I’d reduced Jesus to THAT definition. Praise His Holy Name for re- and rightly defining Himself for me.

Not only was my definition of Jesus wrong, but I found out my definitions of “fun” and “good things” had been shaped by a culture jockeying for my demise. Again, I’m thankful for the Lord showing me the proper, life-giving definitions of those words.

Flash forward about three decades. It may be surprising that one of my favorite verses of late is Psalm 16:6, “The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance.” No matter what I’m teaching or speaking on lately, that verse seems to shape the message. For someone who didn’t want to follow Jesus because His rules would diminish my “fun”, I find my affinity for this verse elevating boundaries not only miraculous, but also hilarious. How could Jesus take someone so averse to His rules and make them LOVE and praise Him for His boundaries? It’s simple. He showed me He not only loves me with His boundaries, but He’s loyal to me (and all His children) by giving us boundaries. His rules are a tangible outpouring of His loving protection for His people.

We often think of ourselves as the ones being called to be loyal to God. We think obedience to His boundaries/rules is what makes us loyal to Him. And that is true, but it’s not the full picture. As we get to know Him more, we see that He is loyal to us. Even giving us loving boundaries and rules shows the Lord’s intense and immense loyalty to us. He loves and cares for us and wants this life – even in this fallen world – to go well with us. As we learn more about His character, we see He’s not trying to keep His children from good things. 

Rules can easily feel like that barrier between us and fun; or us and all we think we’ve ever wanted. As a parent I want my kids to have a different view of rules and boundaries. I tried to instill in them from a young age that Psalm 16:6 perspective of boundaries falling in pleasant places for their good. I wanted them to recognize that the boundaries were never to siphon fun away, but to make sure goodness, fun, and freedom remained. That’s a totally different way of looking at rules than most of us had/have. But it wasn’t my good idea, it was God’s — from the beginning.

In Genesis 1 and 2, we read about God creating the earth and all that’s in it. He created a beautiful garden for Adam and Eve to dwell in that had everything they could want or need. God gave them only one boundary. They could eat all of the wonderful food God provided, but they were not to eat fruit from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil (Genesis 2:16-17). That’s it. Everything except one thing was permissible. And we know what happened from there.

Eve believed God’s one rule for them was keeping Adam and her from the good stuff. Satan tempted Eve to question God’s goodness and plow through the boundary He had given them. Adam and Eve learned quickly (and we live it daily) that their disobedience ushered chaos into the world. God’s one rule was to keep that from happening. What God didn’t do was allow Adam and Eve to walk the Garden without knowing the rule. He provided boundaries that fell in pleasant places.

And He lovingly gives us boundaries, too. Currently we are living in a culture that is still taking Satan’s bait. Satan has convinced people and governments that God’s rules are unnecessary, a burden, or a hinderance to what is really “good”. This lie from Satan is no different than what he spat in the Garden to Eve. May we see God’s boundaries for what they are and Satan’s temptations for the lies they are.

Even though I wanted to as a teenager, we cannot reduce God to a rule-maker, and obedience tracker. He is so much more. When we see His boundaries as Him loyally loving us, the rules become easier to follow. But no matter how easy it may become; we still will not be able to follow all of His statutes perfectly. In His graciousness He has us covered… literally. He has covered us with the sacrificially shed blood of Jesus. The only One to live a perfect life.

As someone who didn’t want to be governed by His rules, I am now thankful for His care and provision His boundaries offer. He gives us boundaries for our good. I cannot get over the graciousness of our loving, loyal Heavenly Father.

“You make known to me the path of life; You will fill me with joy in Your presence, with eternal pleasures at Your right hand” (Psalm 16:11).

Dear Lord, thank You for being the very definition of loyal. Thank You for never leaving or forsaking Your children. Thank You for drawing our boundary lines in pleasant places. Thank You that even Your rules and boundaries are an example of Your loyal love for us. You didn’t leave us here to fend for ourselves, You are our defender and the lover of our souls. Lord, give us Your Spirit and cause us to walk in Your statutes, and may we observe Your ordinances (Ezekiel 36:27). Thank You, Lord. We can never say it enough. We love You. Maranatha! Amen.