What I learned from one of Mama's reminders ...

Whenever I would go out and bring our family's car, my mother and I would most of the times have this kind of conversation:

Me: Ma, alis na po ako. Dalhin ko po yung kotse.
Mama: Okay. Ingat ka. Ayos pa ba gas niyan?
Me: (Recalls the last time I used it) Opo ma, abot pa ng Baguio to. hehe

Mama: Anong Baguio ka diyan? Lagpas pa ba ng kalahati yan? 

Me: Medyo mababa po sa linya ng kalahati.
Mama: Ah ganun ba? Sige. Magpakarga ka na. Mas mahal magpa-tow kaysa sa magpa-gas. Ito pero oh. 

Our car's full tank is around 70 to 75L (if I'm not mistaken), so half of it is 35L and this can reach quite a distance if you're on a long drive. Maybe you can still go to Baguio or Dau (like what my father would always tell my mother when they have the same conversation). Point is, it's far from being empty and being towed by a truck. 

However, Mama mentioned something about towing. She said that it's more costly for our car to be towed than to refill the car's gas tank. My mother was not after the distance the car can travel but the car's condition and of course, our safety. 

It's quite similar with how we view our relationship with God. 

You see, in our lives, God placed boundary lines. These lines limit us, restrict us, hinder us but most especially - the lines protect us. From what? From being empty or worse - getting towed. 

In our walk with God, there are lines that we shouldn't cross. Not because it's sin but because it's just not wise. Or like what my mother would tell me: it's for your own safety. There's nothing wrong about being safe if you're up against sin. 

What shall we do then? Learn from my mother. 

In my point of view, it's okay if you go below the middle line because it is still far from being empty.  My  mother's point of view was "Why do you have to wait till you are nearly empty if you can be safe and stay above the line?". My goal was for the car not being empty of gas, my mother's goal was a full tank or at least closer to it. What the difference? The way we treat the car.

If we see these boundary lines as something that would limit, restrict or hinder us then we'll treat our relationship with God as something that's full of limitations, restrictions and hindrances instead of experiencing true Freedom and we will find ourselves burned out.

If we keep on saying okay lang 'yan, di naman sin 'yan eh; or wala namang sinasabi sa Bible na ganyan, etc. we'll just keep on compromising, and compromising and compromising until we realize that we're just only one foot away from falling into sin. The price to pay in falling into sin is much costly than the price we have to pay in avoiding it. 

When we are more concerned with not falling into sin (not reaching the empty level of the gas tank) there's a big tendency to miss the point of not sinning but when we are more concerned with dwelling at the center of God's plan for us and giving Him the Glory (getting closer to the full level of the gas tank), we see everything we do as a product of the Joy of Salvation.

After all, when it comes to asking God for Presence in our lives, He would always urge His people to ask for more - more than being full or filled with the Spirit, we overflow.