Fences

Did you ever think about the various types of fences?
Post and rail, picket, chain link, wrought iron, barbed wire, invisible dog fences…

One of our neighbors just got an invisible fence installed for their dog.
I was looking at all of the small, white flags going around the perimeter of their property.
Soon their dog will be trained not to go near those flags, which mark the buried wire.

The dog must wear a special collar with a receiver that picks up the signal.
There will be a beeping sound when the dog approaches the fence.
Sometimes the sound is not a deterrent and the dog will get too close to the boundary.
If the dog crosses the fence, a low level shock is received through the collar.

Years ago, I was bitten by a large dog when my oldest daughter was just a baby.
The owners had an invisible fence, but it did not deter the dog from running through it.
I am so glad I was not holding my daughter at that moment.
I had just carried her into the house.
I was bitten where her leg had been minutes before.

Fences can be charming, rustic, and inviting.
Cups of sugar were borrowed over fences.
The latest news was shared over fences.
Wet towels and bathing suits were hung to dry over fences.

Robert Frost wrote a poem I always loved entitled Mending Wall.
Different lines have stayed with me through the years.
Something there is that doesn’t love a wall…
Good fences make good neighbors…
Before I built a wall I’d ask to know what I was walling in or walling out, and to whom I was like to give offense. Something there is that doesn’t love a wall, that wants is down…

I always loved that line…what I was walling in or walling out.
Fences can go both ways.

If people put a fence around their pool, they are walling out…for safety.
If a family puts a fence around their yard so their children can play, they are walling in.
When a prison installs a barbed wire fence, they are both walling in and walling out at the same time.

I remember reading a while back about a school that had a fence around the playground.
The principal talked about expanding the area where the children played.
One night, the old fence was removed, with the intention of installing the new one soon.
When the children went outside to play, they still stayed within the confines of the fence.
They had an entire yard to play in, but they felt safe within the boundaries of where the fence had been.

I have never forgotten that story.

We are tempted every day.
Temptation is a dangerous precipice.
Some people think they can get close to the edge, and not fall off.
Others try very hard to stay as far back from the edge as they possibly can.

When Jesus taught the disciples to pray, He prayed very simply.
The Gospel of Luke records the Lord’s Prayer in a very succinct way.
Father, hallowed be Your name, Your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread. Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And lead us not into temptation. (Luke 11:2-4)

Jesus understood temptation.
He was tempted by the devil for forty days in the dessert.
He used the perfect weapon against Satan’s attacks…the Word of God.

Satan tried to build a fence.
He tried to lure Jesus to come closer to the edge.
If Jesus climbed over the fence and worshiped him, Satan would have been successful.
That would never happen!

Jesus, the God-man, used the perfect Word to stay far back from Satan’s fence.
Because He never crossed over, He showed us the way to stay far back as well.

Satan loves to move the boundaries of his fence.
He lures and deceives.
He offers freedom.
But it is a lie.

Satan wants to wall us in.
He wants to enslave.

Only the victorious Savior who overcame sin, and death, and Satan offers true freedom.
We long to stay in the confines of Jesus’ fence because it protects us.

If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. (John 8:36)

Free to be walled in…held by nail scarred Hands.
Free to be walled out…away from the edge.
We have a Savior who went before us.
A Savior who didn’t climb over Satan’s fence…so we could see how it is done.

Something there is that doesn’t love a wall, that wants it down…
Satan hates Jesus’ fence.
He wants it down.
He wants us to be unprotected.

We have a strong city; God makes salvation its walls and ramparts. (Isaiah 26:1)

With Jesus, we are protected…secure…walled in.
We delight in His boundaries.
We rest in the confines of His fence.