We’re coming up on Easter. It was just one Easter ago when Covid struck fear into hearts around the world. All of the sudden toilet paper was gone and we suspected everyone of selfishness and hoarding. We questioned the morality of others based on the number of mask layers they wore—none being the most heinous offense. At the heart of it, we seemed to truly believe that our actions and behaviors could extend or shorten the number of our neighbors’ days. As if we have control over our God-given breaths which are known by Him alone.

This is the passage that tells me “healthy boundaries” are not exactly the standard I hope to reach. And yet I do see evidence of boundaries in Scripture, the most poignant and clear being that the Father owns the rights to the Kingdom—a very real, yet unseen boundary exists between His holiness and our unholiness; one that, apart from the work of Christ, we could not cross. And so I wonder…

It’s clear now that my thoughts were providentially interrupted. I pushed back against the wall of the plane and watched this woman strategize what to do next. In the meantime, I was performing my own mental calculations—a cost/benefit analysis. Hoping that the staff of the plane had some miracle solution for vomit everywhere, I told myself over and over that I was not going to participate in clean-up but the deep down parts of me revolted. I knew what was coming; I had just spent the last few hours considering Christ… who He is and what He’s done; how to live faithful in times when all is out of my control. And the Holy Spirit whispered, “This is how you’ll keep your eyes unwaveringly fixed on Me. Serve.”