Proverbs 8:27-30

I [Wisdom] was there when he established the heavens, when he drew the horizons on the oceans. I was there when he set the clouds above, when he established springs deep in the earth. I was there when he set the limits of the seas, so they would not spread beyond their boundaries. And when he marked off the earth’s foundation I was the architect at his side.

One of the things God has been knitting into my soul over the last two years is the metaphorical nature of creation. God didn’t simply create the world as a functioning system, but He created the “moving parts”, at least in part, to teach us things. Marriage, for instance, is not just a cohabitative relationship between two people who love each other, it is a cosmic sermon illustration to teach us about the church’s relationship with God.

Here, in Proverbs, the created order shows us wisdom. How there are natural boundaries and borders created by the junction of sea and land, how the clouds don’t settle on the ground but high above for clarity and functionality.

As wisdom calls us to be “more” we can see its work in the world. In our lives there is profound need for boundaries in certain areas and for margins that allow us space to “see” with more clarity. Some times we need to pay attention to the systems of the world God creates AROUND us so we can begin to see where we are fighting against the order of the systems He is setting up INSIDE of us. Wisdom was there at the birth of the world, and doesn’t it make sense that wisdom would be present as we are born again in Christ?

We must intentionally look to the areas of life where boundaries exist, and even in a culture that borders on celebrating social autonomy and spiritual anarchy, we must ponder deeply the wisdom of those border lines. In Eden we see very clearly that when God creates a boundary it is in no way set in place to limit our joy or fulfillment or pleasure. To the contrary, God sets boundaries in place so that we are able to experience joy, fulfillment, and pleasure.