My wife and I just visited the current owners of our new home. We went over to mark out the border of “The Invisible Fence” for our dog, Zoey. Our very strong-willed, sweet, loving, Zoey!
Now, my wife was thinking, relative this event…..’I just want Zoey to be able to run and have fun and be safe’…(can you hear the music to “Born Free” in your mind)………. YEAH!!!
Me? I was thinking how fun it’s going to be to see Zoey get ZAPPED time and again as she tries to go through “The Invisible Fence”. Yep, after all, I am a Bloomin Idiot!
Since the mapping out of the fence today, the thought of it has been ruminating in my mind. And the following scripture popped into my gray brain matter.
Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it. Proverbs 22:5-7
Now the truth is, I love and want only the best for Zoey. She is self-determined and unless we do something to rein her in, the neighborhood will be her oyster and the postman’s leg her dessert! There are many dangers inherent in this happening, the worst of these being her taken from us forever! Our hearts would break if that were to transpire. THUS, “The Invisible Fence”.
I, her master, will lead her slowly to the white flags that mark the border, making sure she sees the markings. The collar device will sound warning pitches, at increasing volume, as she grows closer to these visual cues. Finally, if she gets too close she will be shocked (NO PUN INTENDED…ok, maybe a little bit of a pun…) to feel electricity course through her neck!
In my life I have been ZAPPED many times, because the dog I am has not only tested, but also crossed the fence despite all the warning signs. Oh, I was forewarned, yet I disregarded the signs of catastrophe that lay ahead of me.
I had an inner voice which told me over and over I was too close to the border, yet I wouldn’t be thwarted. I was SHOCKED so many times, until finally I woke up to the reality that the thoughts; I deserved better, I’m owed this freedom, I’m entitled to this happiness,….. were only destroying my self-respect, my reputation and my life!
My Master had been lovingly trying to train me for years. And it finally took hold!
No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.
Hebrews 12:10-12
The thing about “The Invisible Fence” is when a dog has been trained with it, you can tell by just observing. She stays in the boundaries set for her by her master. In fact, in time, you can see the very fence outline if you watch the dog walk around her territories’ edges.
It’s true with us, too. “The Invisible Fence” can be seen in us. In our changed behavior. And that change brings acclaim to that Force in our lives…. “The Invisible Fence”. Our Master’s handiwork attests to the One who set the fence in place to begin with. And although you can’t see Him, His work is plain as day!
Oh, that I did not squander all those years avoiding “The Invisible Fence”. It cost me much and still does today. But, thanks to God’s “Invisible Fence”, I am on the way to being fully trained.
For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.
Thought to ponder as you journey today: Are you living inside the boundaries of the Invisible Fence that God has set for your life?
Thee Bloomin Idiot 