If you draw a line in the sand, you establish a limit beyond which things will be unacceptable. The idea is that you establish a line that shouldn't be crossed or there will be severe consequences. It is easy to cross that line since there is not a physical barrier that would keep you from crossing the line.
When we say that someone crosses the line is because they have start behaving in a way that is not acceptable. If someone tells a vulgar joke in a place or occasion that is not appropriate you may say that that person crossed the line. Crossing the line is to change from being acceptable to being unacceptable.
1. Crossing the Line in our social Relationships
2. Crossing the Line with God
3. Writing in Sand
4. Learning how to draw the line
1. Crossing the Line in our relationships
We all have boundaries in our relationships. I usually avoid hugging women. I don't have a problem hugging my wife but I don't like to engage with physical contact that may place me or another person in a situation that "crosses the line". This is my personal boundary and I'm not telling you to do the same, thats up to you. However my advice is that you be careful in your relationships and if you feel that someone "crossed the line" you may have to tell them.
Respect can only be maintained if you define boundaries in your relationships. Let me give you a simple example. When my kids learned how to speak they realized that my name is Tony and my wife's name is Sara. Eventually they all did the same thing and tried to call me and Mom by our names. Is this wrong? Not really but in order to keep respect and and the right order of things we had to teach our children that we are not Tony and Sara but we are Mom and Dad. Respect is maintained by understanding social boundaries.
In all realms of life we learn how to interact with others. Our teachers should be respected, a police officer, a judge, a president, etc. We learn how to address others without crossing the line. In Church we have to learn how to do the same. If I call my doctor I don't say "Hey, Nathalie what's up?" but I would say something like. "Good morning Doctor Nathalie, how are you doing today?". Otherwise I might be crossing the line. If our Prime Minister comes to our Church I will not address him by his first name because I want to show him respect. I respect his office, position and authority. If I gain trust and get to know him, eventually he could say, "Skip the title and just call me Stephen". I then know that in moments that I am alone with him I can skip the formalities.
If social lines are crossed society can come apart. One of the reasons of the failure of public education is because the liberal way of thinking gives no importance to draw the line between students and teachers. One of the reasons why some Churches fail is because there is no line between members of the congregation and those that are called for full time ministry. If you start to compare yourself with your pastor you just crossed a line not because you cannot compare yourself with somebody else as an individual but there is a social line that if broken can place you on the wrong side of things.
In Mark 6:4-5 Jesus affirmed that a prophet is without honor in his home town, and in view of that reality, He could not perform any miracles in Nazareth except for healing a few sick people. The people of Nazareth were apparently plagued by unbelief and paid little attention to the claims of Jesus. Because of Nazareth's rejection of the person and message of Jesus Christ, He went on to other cities that did respond to and receive Him. We have no evidence that Jesus ever again returned to Nazareth. Yet he was nicknamed as "Jesus of Nazareth". Most people of Nazareth had no respect for Jesus because they where on the wrong side of the line. A few people in Nazareth received miracles through the ministry of Jesus because they where able to separate things and honored him as a prophet and not as baby Jesus.
Christmas is a meaningless celebration for most people because Jesus means nothing to them. You can celebrate Christmas without Christ as you can come to Church and receive nothing from God because a line is being crossed. My role as a pastor is to tell you how to keep yourself on the right side of this social (and spiritual) line.
2. Crossing the Line with God
Adam was given a mind like no one can imagine. He named every beast, bird, fish, tree, and plant. He even named all the insects. God had total faith and trust in Adam's decisions. We discover after sin entered into the Garden, Adam even named his wife Eve. God only gave Adam one restriction that he was not to do:
Genesis 2:16-17
16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”
Adam crossed the line with God and lost it all.
Another man that crossed the line was King Saul. He was not a priest, and therefore was not to offer sacrifices before the Lord. But he began to get high and lifted up in self. He began to believe anything he did was acceptable before God. How like many big Christians today. Because the people lift them up, they believe they are acceptable in God's sight.
1 Samuel 13:10-14
10 As soon as he had finished offering the burnt offering, behold, Samuel came. And Saul went out to meet him and greet him. 11 Samuel said, “What have you done?” And Saul said, “When I saw that the people were scattering from me, and that you did not come within the days appointed, and that the Philistines had mustered at Michmash, 12 I said, ‘Now the Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal, and I have not sought the favor of the Lord. ’ So I forced myself, and offered the burnt offering.” 13 And Samuel said to Saul, “You have done foolishly. You have not kept the command of the Lord your God, with which he commanded you. For then the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. 14 But now your kingdom shall not continue. The Lord has sought out a man after his own heart, and the Lord has commanded him to be prince over his people, because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you.”
When Samuel came, he asked Saul what he had done. Saul began to make excuses. First, it was Samuel's fault because he had not come within the appointed time. Then it was the people's fault because some had left Saul. Then it was the Philistines fault because they had amassed themselves to regain what Jonathan had taken from them. The sure sign of weakness is when a leader will not take responsibility for his actions, and the actions of his people.
Saul crossed the line and lost his Kingdom
God doesn't accept that we cross the lines that he establishes. I could be here all day showing you Biblical examples of people that lost Kingdoms, Wealth, and even their own life because of ignoring the simple principle that are lines that cannot be crossed. Yes we have a forgiving God but let us be very careful of what we do and say so we don't waste our God given opportunities. Many times we don't understand that we crossed the line and if we start giving excuses and do not repent we have everything to loose.
3. Writing in the Sand
When I was dating my wife we used to go for a walk on the beach and one of the things I enjoyed doing was writing a short love letter in the sand. Only her could read it since the ocean waves would quickly wash away the sentences. Why would you write in sand? Because you are doing a temporary visual statement. There is no hopes of keeping the writing in sand but on the memory of those who read it.
There is a Bible story of the 'woman caught in the act of adultery' (John 8). The story takes place in one of the sandy floored courts adjoining the main Temple. I presume that the flooring was sand, as the Lord Jesus stooped down to write in it, and what He wrote could clearly be read by those who stood around. According to Jewish law, it was unlawful to write even two letters on the sabbath day, but it was acceptable to write in dust! (shabbat 7:2, 12:5)
There's been lots of speculation as to what the Lord Jesus wrote in the sand that day. Some suggest that it was a list of sins, others suggest that it was a list of the names of those stood around. I often wonder if it was a Scripture from the Old Testament.
I really love 1 Samuel 2:8 where it says that "He raises up the poor from the dust; he lifts the needy from the ash heap to make them sit with princes and inherit a seat of honor."
For whatever reason, the Bible does not record what was actually written. In Genesis 2:7 says "then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature." Jesus kept writing on the sand of the Temple court. We often forget that we are dust and to dust we will return. Jesus formed us and he is able to write a new chapter in our lives.
Some people like to doodle abstract things when they try to absorb an idea or a conversation. I used to do this all the time when I was in School and some teachers thought I was distracted doing something else. Doodling can be very important. I don't think that Jesus was drawing an abstract motive or a happy face. maybe there is no record of what he wrote because he might have just drawn a line in the sand. Who knows? One thing I can assure you is that he didn't judge that woman. God doesn't condemn you or me and he is merciful and loving. He might have condemn those religious people that brought the woman, I really don't know but he was willing to release that woman from shame and judgement. (The important thing on this passage is probably not what Jesus wrote but the fact that he used his finger. God's finger was the instrument that engraved the law in the tablets given to Moses.)
4. Draw your line in the sand
If you have crossed a line with God or others you can always repent and decide to start a new chapter of your life!
Illustration
Pastor Mark Batterson wrote a book called "The Circle Maker". He tells the following.
The Book of Legends, is a collection of stories from the Jewish Talmud, when I discovered the true legend of Honi the Circle Maker. It forever changed the way I pray. I pray more. I pray with more faith. I've learned how to pray circles around my dreams, my problems, my family, and most importantly, the promises of God.
A devastating drought threatened to destroy a generation--the generation before Jesus. The last of the Jewish prophets had died off nearly four centuries before. Miracles were a distant memory. And God was nowhere to be heard. But there was one man, an old sage who lived outside the walls of Jerusalem, who dared to pray anyway. His name was Honi. And even if the people could no longer hear God, he believed that God could still hear them.
With a six-foot staff in his hand, Honi drew a circle in the sand. Then he dropped to his knees and raised his hands to heaven. With the authority of the prophet Elijah who called down fire from heaven, Honi called down rain.
Lord of the Universe, I swear before your great name that I will not move from this circle until you have shown mercy upon your children. Then it happened. As his prayer ascended to the heavens, raindrops descended to the earth. The people rejoiced over the rain, but Honi wasn't satisfied with a sprinkle. Still kneeling within the circle, Honi lifted his voice over the sounds of celebration.
Not for such rain have I prayed, but for rain that will fill cisterns, pits, and caverns.
The sprinkle turned into such a torrential downpour that the people fled to the Temple Mount to escape the flash floods. Honi stayed and prayed inside his protracted circle.
Not for such rain have I prayed, but for rain of benevolence, benediction, and grace.
Then, like a well-proportioned sun shower on a summer afternoon, it began to rain in perfect moderation. Some within the Sanhedrin threatened excommunication because his prayer was too bold for their taste, but the miracle couldn't be repudiated. Eventually, Honi the Circle Maker was honored for "the prayer that saved a generation." The circle he drew in the sand symbolizes the power of a single prayer to change the course of history. It's also a reminder of this timeless truth: God honors bold prayers because bold prayers honor God.
We need to learn how to pray like Honi and draw our own lines in the sand. The lines that we should not cross and the lines that help us to pray boldly. We need to tell God, "I will not leave this place until you bless me!"
Scriptures for cross Reference:
John 8:3-11
3 The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst 4 they said to him, “ Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. 5 Now in the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?” 6 This they said to test him, that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. 7 And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.” 8 And once more he bent down and wrote on the ground. 9 But when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. 10 Jesus stood up and said to her, “ Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” 11 She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “ Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.”]]
Jeremiah 17:13 (TEV)
LORD, you are Israel's hope; all who abandon you will be put to shame. They will disappear like names written in the dust, because they have abandoned you, the LORD, the spring of fresh water.
Exodus 32:15-16
15 Then Moses turned and went down from the mountain with the two tablets of the testimony in his hand, tablets that were written on both sides; on the front and on the back they were written. 16 The tablets were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, engraved on the tablets.
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