They (meaning Beloved and my son-in-law, Jay), began the work around 7:30 AM on Saturday. They first had to tear out the old broken down fence that had been an eyesore to the neighborhood. That took a couple of hours. Then they enlarged the holes for the posts. That proved too tedious so a trip to Home Depot provided a post-hole digger. By the time the holes were dug it was lunch time. They both looked pretty tired but true grit sent them back to the job. By 3:00 the holes were dug and the support posts were in place with cement holding them down. A short break for some ice tea and chocolate chip cookies and they started back up again. I must admit they both looked exhausted. Now the cross beams were put up and then one by one the pickets were nailed to the cross beams. Precise measuring took what seemed like an eternity but one by one those pickets took their place. By seven that evening we all stood outside and admired the work. It was beautiful. It was sturdy. It was perfect and it kept the kids and dog in the boundaries and the neighbor kids in …or out…whichever was desired at that moment.
Fences are good things. Fences make good neighbors. Fences make for safe kids and animals. Fences keep kids from danger and also keep danger from kids. Fences make Moms and Dads happy. Yes, fences are good things.
Some of you have been studying the Major, Early Minor and Later Minor Prophetical books this year. In many ways I think they all talk about fences, God’s fences that is. Each one of those books gives a glimpse of God who is calling to his children to stay within the fence. And yet they chose to play in the busy streets, risking their own happiness, peace, joy for a brief taste of excitement. And over and over again we read similar lines that deal with His Word. “They are destroyed for lack of knowledge”. “They have rejected the Law”. “They rebelled against His commands.” In several different ways God tells us that He is dead serious about the laws found in the Bible because they are His fences that give us the best life we can have. They are fences, God’s laws, that keep us from danger and danger from us.
Jay had his kid’s safety in mind. He had the neighbors in mind. He had his own happiness in mind knowing that his kids were safely fenced in and danger was fenced out. When God gave the laws He had you in mind. He had me in mind and yes, He even had my neighbors in mind.
Psalm 119:29
Remove the false way from me, and graciously grant me Thy law. I have chosen the faithful way;
I have placed Thy ordinances before me.
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