Soon after we landed on the name Boundless – after weeks of brainstorming what we would call this new thing – I came across Psalm 119:96 in my devotional reading: “To all perfection I see a limit, but your commands are boundless.” (NIV)
I remember thinking it was striking that one of the only times the word “boundless” is used in an English translation of the Bible is in the context of God’s commands. We don’t tend to think of commands as “boundless.” Where the word boundless implies concepts like limitless, wide open, free, or abundant, commands implies limitations, constraints, or control over the one commanded.
A theme in the commentaries I read on this passage is that worldly perfection based in finite human understanding has limits, but God’s laws in His wisdom are infinite. As Boundless comes to an end, I see this as a valuable opportunity to reflect on God’s boundless commands — His guiding truth that has been the source of any wisdom coming from Boundless over the past 27 years — and that will, as verse 90 of Psalm 119 testifies, “endure to all generations.”
True freedom found in obedience
In his book “Psalms by the Day,” Alec Motyer provides his own translation of the Hebrew in Psalm 119:96 as, “I see that there is a limit to all that is finite; your commandment is exceedingly wide” and observes that “Only Yahweh’s word is wide enough to secure true freedom.”
While he doesn’t use the word boundless, his commentary on the passage is inspiring. Instead of seeing God’s commandment as limiting and controlling, Motyer says “it is the ‘place’ where I can enjoy true freedom, transcending human finitude.” He continues by explaining this true freedom comes from “living according to what James calls ‘the perfect law, the law of liberty’ (James 1:25).” He says that the law of liberty James describes is ‘perfect’ in that “it is perfectly designed to match our true, real nature” and that it brings us ‘liberty’ “because obedience triggers the image of God in us so that we are what we were always meant to be.”
This is a powerful truth at work as we trust God’s boundless commands. What we may see as limitations or constraints are actually freedom when they align us with the way God designed us. There are many ways we could consider the application of this truth — to work, to media use, or managing money — but in this space, I want to focus on one that has been a thread throughout the life of Boundless: men and commitment to marriage.
God’s boundless design for marriage
In Genesis 2:24, we see one of the first revelations of God’s design for His creation: “Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.” The apostle Paul references this passage to show the profound mystery of the relationship between Christ and the church, but also to command men to “love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her” (Ephesians 5:25, ESV).
Just before this focus on marriage, Paul had written, “But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you,” continuing, “For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God” (Ephesians 5:3,5, ESV).
In God’s wisdom, he calls a man to walk in purity, to leave his parents, and to hold fast to a wife that he will then love sacrificially as Christ loved the church. This call to purity, commitment, and sacrificial love, however, can strike a man in his self-interest as significantly limiting and counter to his good.
Many influential voices to young men affirm their self-interests and criticize any constraints on their pursuit of pleasure, especially the sacrificial commitment of marriage. Some men even argue that there are no benefits for them in marriage. According to uber-influential Andrew Tate, “there is zero advantage to marriage in the Western world for a man.” He says, “There is zero statistical advantage. If you use your mind, if you use your head instead of your heart, and you look at the advantages to getting married, there are absolutely none.”
But God’s design is good. His commands are boundless. Those who trust in Him find true freedom in living according to His perfect law. And so they trust that God’s design for marriage is truly good.
I appreciate how sociologist Brad Wilcox boldly counters claims like Andrew Tate’s in his book “Get Married.” His statistics and anecdotes provide one of the best contemporary counters to the common “ball and chain” myth by showing that sacrifice and commitment in marriage actually lead to greater freedom and happiness in the long run. Even if Brad Wilcox had not provided so much evidence of God’s good design, men could still trust God’s boundless commandment as it transcends our finite understanding and ability.
When Boundless first started, I was eager to guide young men beyond the dead-ends and detours that had marked my path to marriage. In fact, that was my motivation to produce “The Guy’s Guide to Marrying Well” so many years ago. Twenty-seven years later, I can see more clearly the goodness and deep joy that come from God’s design for sacrificial love and commitment in marriage. I could not have scripted a richer life than what God has produced from the life-shaping covenant of marriage to Candice.
Trusting God’s design across generations
One of my greatest joys was watching our son Harrison get married last year. On his path to marriage, he experienced the awkward challenges that come with taking initiative, disappointments when his interest wasn’t reciprocated, and the mystery of relating to a woman (Proverbs 30:18-19). But he did not experience the detours and dead-ends I did, because he trusted God’s good design all along the way.
Watching him and his new wife Naomi celebrate their union and build their lives together, I can see they truly married well. They weren’t just lucky in love. They enjoyed the fruit of trusting God’s commands — His good design for purity, for the binding marital commitment, and for sacrificial love.
My prayer for anyone who has valued Boundless over the years is that you’ll grow even more in trusting God’s boundless commands in every area of your life, and that you’ll have much joy in the fruit He produces as you hope in Him.
Copyright 2026 Steve Watters. All rights reserved.
