Life Inside the Fence

There is a loving pet who has been given reign of the entire backyard. This pet has a fenced yard that is nearly an acre. The yard contains trees for shade, large grassy areas for running, shelter and water. The yard truly has everything the pet would need to be happy and healthy. But, for some reason the pet desires to get outside the fence. The pet doesn't realize that the road outside the fence is filled with cars traveling 55 miles an hour, that the woods beyond the fence contain coyotes and other large predators, or that even though the land on the other side of the fence looks the same, it is filled with danger and is nothing like the secure land he has been provided. The pet simply sees other animals on the outside of the fence and assumes things would be better if he could get there.

This short description reminds me of how we treat the loving guidelines the Lord has given us. In His Word, He has provided us boundaries, where we should go and where we should not. He has told us how to live healthy happy lives. He has shown us how to live in a safe and productive way. But, we like the pet are not happy with the boundaries we have, we are continually looking to the "other side" and assuming that we are missing out on something. Much like the pet, we don't realize the extreme danger there is waiting for us outside the fence and that leaving the fence will lead to certain pain, destruction and even death. We seem to forget that God loves us and desires the very best for us and that is the only reason He has shown us the boundaries.

I have often wondered why so many seem to spend so much time and energy living outside the boundaries and then when they are hurt or something bad happens they are confused. It is not easy to live inside the boundaries, but it shouldn't be confusing that you get hurt when you choose to leave them. I know that each time I move beyond the loving boundaries set for me that I will experience a natural consequence for my actions. I have been hurt many times, usually when I thought I knew better, you would think I would learn my lesson and just stay inside the fence, but it is harder than it sounds.

In church yesterday, the speaker also talked about the strange need he sees in others to push the boundaries. He described it like this, "It is like there is a cliff that has a steep drop off and falling from the cliff would lead to certain death. So first I blindfold you and then I tell you that the edge of the cliff is somewhere between 2 and 200 feet in front of you. What do you do? Do you take a step closer to the cliff? Do you freeze right where you are? Do you step back and move farther from the cliff?"He reminded us that scripture says we should "flee" from sin. Flee! Not see how close we can get, not watch others sin, not see if we can sin without getting caught, but Flee...back-up...move away from the cliff.

Just like us, our children our faced with choices each day that test the boundaries God has given them. I pray that our children will be "caught" when they move outside "the fence." I desire for them to learn early that God's love has provided them with all they need and that His ways are far above anything the world has to offer them from the other side of "the fence."Let's strive to teach our children, and ourselves to flee from sin!