Limits

Limits. Oh how I hate them, and how how a part of life they are! I had a conversation with a friend just the other day about limits and how neither of us can do what other people can do. We can resent that, or we can work on accepting it so that we can fully live the lives we have.

The Bible actually talks about limits in some positive ways. In the Psalms, David writes, "The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance" [Ps 16:6, New International Version (NIV)]. Pauls talks about how the Spirit intercedes for us when we lack the ability to find the words to pray (Rom 8:28). Paul talks about God's power being sufficient in weakness (2 Cor 12:9) about having "treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us" (2 Cor 4:7). In 1 Corinthians 12, Paul talks about differing gifts in the body (how we don't have them all, but that the body as a whole, functions together). All of these seem to point to limits being good, maybe not feeling good, but being for good.

How are limits good? Well, limits remind me that God knows better than I do. Limits teach me to be grateful to God for what He has done. As Kate Bowler says, "There's a lot to do if you have to save yourself" (Bowler, 2022). Praise Jesus, there is a Savior, and I am not Him! Limits teach me to rely on God's power instead of my own. Limits require others to exercise their unique gifts and talents because I certainly lack the many things that the church corporate needs. Limits require me to rest, something God in his perfection did, but that I in all my human weakness struggle to do. I guess what I am saying is that limits are good for for the building of my spiritual character, for my sanctification.

I still don't like limits, but what if I thanked God for my limits instead of resenting them? What if I learned to appreciate them for what they are, a tool to bring me closer to Jesus. I want that result, even if it's uncomfortable. So here's to limits. To acknowledging, and even embracing them. To maybe fighting against them a little less, because if I could fight them less, I might grow more within them, and thereby pursue the full life that God has for me. Amen and amen.

References:

Bowler, K. (Host). (2022, October 24). More life, fewer explanations. (S9, E8) [Audio podcast episode]. In Everything Happens. https://katebowler.com/podcasts/more-life-fewer-explanations-2/

New International Version. (2011). Bible Gateway. https://www.biblegateway.com/versions/New-International-Version-NIV-Bible/