Thursday, May 18, 2017

A mini-lesson on “fence-straddling”

We used to have a sweet little Miniature Schanuzer named Dallas, who left this world a couple of years ago at the ripe ol’ age of 14.

Dallas was afraid of many things, and so, it wasn’t hard to contain him in his little postage stamp, fenced-in back yard consisting of just a few wires Bill had fastened to some rebar posts.

He could have easily jumped over the short fence, but luckily for us, he was somewhat of a coward. (He also wouldn’t go near the heat vents in the house, because they were apparently too scary and weird…)

Anyway, what I’m getting at is that the little fence served as a kind “Torah” for our little fur person.  As long as he stayed within its boundaries, he was safe. In that yard, he remained close to the house where we could keep an eye on him through the French door.

But if he were to ever escape and run up the hill into the woods, he would run the risk of becoming a meal for any number of predators, including a bear, lynx, or coyote (all of which we have personally seen).

If he had decided to run down the hill and across the properties of two of our neighbors, he would end up on a fairly busy highway. He would face possible danger even if he were to simply trot down our driveway toward the mail box, because he would end up on the road that snakes through our neighborhood where many didn't bother to follow the speed limit.

I shudder to think what would have happened if he had tried to make it all the way to the freeway which is approximately only a half mile away….

What I’m trying to illustrate is that YHWH gave us Torah to keep us safe from this fallen world.

Adam and Eve were safe in the Garden until they decided to break just one little rule. Suddenly, they found themselves outside of their safe haven, in a “fallen world” where hard work, pain, sorrow, sickness and death ruled … where jealousy, greed, drunkenness, lewdness, arrogance, fornication and adultery and all manner of vileness lay in wait as the world’s population began to grow.

In our “fallen world,” we aren’t guaranteed health, wealth, riches or anything else our carnal selves desire. But when we belong to YHWH, we have shalom in knowing that, no matter what else happens, YHWH is with us, guiding and teaching and allowing us to grow in knowledge of Him.

We have His Divine Rules for holy living which serve to make our earthbound existence smoother.  And, of course, we have the assurance of eternal life…

The moral of the story?

If little Dallas had dared to jump over his “Torah” fence that kept him safe, he would have mostly likely lost his life.

If YHWH’s people jump their Torah “fence” the world will close in and cause them to lose not only their “way” but possibly, their eternal life….

(See Romans 1:18-32; Numbers 15: 30; Hebrews 6:4-8 and 10:26-27; 2 Peter 2: 19-21; 1 Corinthians 6: 9-10; Deuteronomy 7: 9-10, Revelation 3:16, etc.)

2 comments:

  1. Some of my family and friends are concerned about my 'fenced area being too closed'. Mainly, because they perceive that perhaps I am reading too much into things. And I say, throughout the Bible, YHWH is very specific about things.
    An example- There is a popular theater production out there named 'Shun Yun'. The invite went out to me as well, and during research, the name alone implies Buddism, Taoism. Rather than me just saying ' no go for me', I went beyond and warned them. I drew from my own 'searching experience' in my teens, where by one invite from a super friendly person in my neighborhood, I ended up practicing some form of Buddism for two months, then soon left because of a bad experience.
    My warnings are that deception comes unannounced, subtle, sneaky. Unfortunately, most responses are "God knows our
    heart, we are not going to worship idols" it's just entertainment.
    It's not easy to warn people. I was warned back then- and rebelIed too. People may describe me as less sociable, because of limits. And many say it's all about us showing His 'love, love'. However, YHWH is my creator, and the love test is obiedence to His rules. I am more accountable to check against His standards. It gets easier, when I fully understand that my Father is protecting me from hurts and pains.
    "Better is one day in His courts, better is one day in His house- then thousand elsewhere".

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    Replies
    1. Amein, and right on, Anonymous! Thanks for a great post!

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