God recognizes no boundaries but His own.

When Jesus was born, the stable wasn’t an unwanted by-product of a crowded town, it was the plan. The timing wasn’t unforeseen, nor the circumstances. Jesus was born a Jew, within the confines of what God had ordained all along. On the eighth day, He was presented:

“And when eight days were completed for the circumcision of the Child, His name was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before He was conceived in the womb.” – Luke 2:21 NKJV

It’s easy to overlook the importance of the fact that Jesus had to come, live, die and rise again in a specific way to become our substitute. The Law and Old Covenant was a precious part of God’s redemptive plan. It defined perfection to His standards, and He alone fully met the requirements. Along the faith journey, we can subconsciously forget that God operates within His own boundaries. God will always act within His righteous nature.

When life presents choices and we’re looking to God for help, the statement of “I know what the Bible says, but…” is a bad place to start. Jesus faced pressure every day to act in ways according to people’s expectations, but He rarely did. He operated within the constraints of His own words given to the Prophets years earlier.

How do you see God’s plan for your life? Does it match up with a scriptural definition of a disciple, or some “reasonable” mixture of pop-culture and faith?

“…If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed.” – John 8:31b NKJV