Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.
1 Peter 5,8
Recently, while visiting relatives in North America, we stayed in a neighborhood of beautiful homes. Expensive, well-manicured lawns, punctuated here and there by majestic trees and colorful ornamental shrubs, surrounded each home. The gardens sloped right down to the road. As a European, I was intrigued by the complete absence of any dividing hedge, wall, or fence between properties or even between the gardens and the road. Therefore, when fierce-looking, loudly barking dogs raced to the roadside to meet me during my early-morning walk, I became more than apprehensive. However, to my utter amazement and relief, they all stopped at the edge of the road.
When I shared my amazement with my relatives, they told me that an invisible electric fence surrounded each property. The electric current, sent out by the invisible electric fences, reacted with a mechanism in the dogs‘ collars, giving the animals a low-voltage electric shock. It was this shock from their collars that brought the animals to an abrupt halt just where their property lines ended. This protective measure kept the dogs from harming people.
In God’s eyes, we, His children, are far more precious than any stately home. He calls us His jewels (Malachi 3:17) and has paid an immense price to buy each one of us back from the enemy. To protect us, He has encircled us with an invisible fence. Not only does it keep us from harming those around us, but it also saves us from attacks from our spiritual enemy, the devil. Written in our hearts and invisible to others, God’s law of love, His royal law – the Ten Commandments – is this protective wall around us. The commandments encourage us to treat others with the same love and compassion with which God treats us. At the same time, they restrain us from behavior that would harm others and subsequently cause much pain to us as well. For we would eventually reap a bitter harvest from the evil we are so often tempted to sow.
God did not give us His law to spoil our fun or take the pleasure out of living. He gave us His law to protect us. He longs for us to enjoy life to its fullest. May we all be able to say with King David, „O how love I thy law! It is my meditation all the day“ (Psalm 11:97).
Love You More ©2016 Pacific Press Publishing Association