God likes fences

God likes fences. This was clearly demonstrated today on our way back from Frankston, when we had a bit of an accident. It involved going a bit too fast around a corner that resulted in sliding, over correcting that led to even more sliding across several lanes, and driving into a ditch. Thankfully, no one was hurt, the car did not roll (although it should have given the steepness of the ditch, the way we entered the ditch, and the slipperiness of the grass), and we did not slam into a pole. But, most miraculously of all, we narrowly missed hitting a wire fence.

Seriously, there was more praising God for the fact we didn't hit a fence than for the fact that we were alive. And it wasn't so much "phew, we didn't hit the fence and wreck the car" but more "phew, we didn't hit the fence and wreck the fence. Praise God!"

After I got over the humour of nearly being in an accident, I started wondering why we all thought it was important that we didn't hit the fence. Why did God care enough about the fence that we shouldn't hit it? Does God care about fences? Yes, yes He does!



Okay, so the focus of this photo is the powerline, not the fence. That's okay. I like black and white photos =)

So why does God care about fences? Fences are used to prevent or restrict movement across a boundary, and provide a visible mark as to where that boundary is. God protects fences to protect boundaries.

So why does God care about boundaries?

Boundaries mark the end of one thing and the start of another. Boundaries are the lines that define the limit of something. When you cross a boundary, you have left one state for another. Often there are boundaries in our lives, self-imposed or decided upon by others, that we should not cross because they separate what is "right or acceptable" from "wrong and potentially dangerous". Even God has set very important boundaries for us that we should adhere to.

It's very easy and often tempting to cross boundaries, to exceed the personal limits we set. It's easy to get caught up in the moment and temporarily forget that "I should not go there". Even people who are morally and spiritually strong and very self-aware occasionally overstep the mark. And sometimes it is not clear where exactly the boundary is. It's kind of grey as to "where this ends and that begins", sort of a no-man's land that requires individual discernment as to where to draw the line. At other times the boundary can be blindingly obvious, and yet still so easy to cross. Take, for instance, Spiderman:



The picture is very blurry, but it shows Spiderman surrounding by his sleeping children and, unfortunately, his wife/mother. He crossed a big boundary that even nature detests. But let's not go there. Maybe Spiderman isn't the best example. Something very beautiful came of him doing something very bad. Well, God is gracious.

Moving on. How can we avoid crossing boundaries? This is where fences come in. Fences are important. Fences mark the boundary. It's hard to cross boundaries if you walk into the fence. In your situation, if there are certain boundaries you should not cross, then put up warning signs and fences! Set yourself some very clear limits as to what is and what is not acceptable. If you are highly likely to cross the boundary, go and set up fences that are not so easy to get over! Get other people to help you define the boundary (though be warned that their fences might not quite work for you). More importantly, sit down and figure it out with God. He knows better than anyone else what you can and cannot deal with. He knows exactly how far you can go before you have gone too far.

So why have I wasted the last half hour writing about fences and boundaries? I guess I've been thinking about it a lot lately, and the almost-accident made me start thinking about it more from God's perspective. I want to share this, partially so you can learn from it, but mostly because I need to clarify this in my mind.

So to answer the question: God likes fences because they prevent us from crossing boundaries. (Of course, this is context sensitive. I'm sure God doesn't really like you putting up fences in your heart that prevent you from getting close to Him.)

I ate too many carrot sticks. I now feel sick.