A couple of days ago Reg went for a walk. Now going for a walk is not a problem but Reg should have his collar and lead on if he is going to leave the protection of the garden. Reg I should explain is our (or technically our son’s) black Labrador dog.

 

Where we used to live surrounded by fields we had an “invisible fence” around the house and garden. The kind where you bury a wire that transmits a radio signal. Our dogs wear special collars that detect this radio signal when they get close to the wire. As they approach, the collar will beep first, and then, if they continue to try to cross the boundary, it will transmit a static shock.

 

We were instructed on how to train Reg to recognise where the “fence” was. We had to lead him up to the “fence” until the beep happened and then we had to pull him away very quickly and congratulate him when he obeyed.

 

We have not installed the fence where we currently live and Reg has lived a life free of static shocks for a couple of months now. It’s been OK though because the garden is surrounded by high walls. But last week the back gate was left opened and free of any penalties for crossing the line Reg toddled off….

 

When Carly realised what had happened she became frantic. You see Reg does not know the area beyond the garden and there was little chance of him finding his way back home especially if had scented a cat which would be fun to chase or, more than likely, a bin full of decaying food five hundred meters away.

 

After half an hour of calling, running from house to house and finally getting in the car and cruising the area like a dog warden in disguise Carly eventually found him a couple of streets away. He was lost and boy was he so pleased when he espied a familiar car and was able to jump into a friendly smelling car boot.

 

He was rewarded with a biscuit when he got home as in Carly’s words he needed de-stressing!!

 

Reg had lost sight of his boundaries and whilst being free to wander was glad to be found and led back to safety. Got me thinking…

 

I wonder what boundaries we need to work within. It seems to me that many of our so-called traditional laws and boundaries have been dispensed with in the cause of so-called individual freedom. Is there such a thing now as right or wrong? Everything is relative – in other words if it is not hurting any-one and it feels good for you – then do it.

The words written in the Bible are like the beep that Reg hears if he gets too close to the fence. They are visible reminders of where specific points along the boundaries are. But, the Bible tells us, they should be unnecessary. We are designed by God with a built in radio collar. It tells us when we are about to cross the line. Just like the collar, it doesn’t physically prevent us from crossing the line. We can choose to cross anyway, even though we know it is wrong and it will hurt.

The result though if we cross the line is that we can so easily become lost. We can wander along looking for something else to chase only to find it gets away from us or we go looking for something to fill our stomachs, our eyes or our ears or other senses and then find that whilst it may have smelled or looked good it was in fact decaying.

 

How we need to be rescued when we are outside of the safe protection of the area that we should be in.

 

God rescues us – he will come looking for us even if we are in the most unlikely of places. God gave the most precious thing that he had – His son Jesus – to rescue us from the things that will do us no good. And what is more he rewards us with the prospect of a life spent with him – safe, secure and freedom from fear of death.

 

May be you need to re-establish those boundaries today. Or may be you need to find out for the first time what this safe and secure area that Jesus promises you is all about. Give Him a go and ask Him to establish His boundary in your life.

 

Reg is now happy at home, dreaming as only dogs do with his legs twitching and a gentle whimper – probably wondering if it’s worth the risk of chasing after the cat next door again

 

Till next time…

Rich