I hate walls...walls that keep me outside when I want to be in, walls that keep me in when I want to be out...I especially hate it when misunderstandings occur between my family or best friends and walls form in our relationships. We all try to pretend the walls aren't there, but I can tell they are like only a mile high. Ugh!! I've learned I can't keep a very close walk with God as long as I allow those walls to stay, so I'm usually doing everything in my power to tear them down... AND...that's what we're told in the Bible to do!

Not only are we to tear down the walls in our hearts, by forgiving...

"And when you stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any, that your Father also which is in Heaven may forgive your trespasses." Mark 11:25

But we are to seek to tear down the walls in others, if we know that they have not forgiven us!!

"Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee, leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way. First be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer the gift." Mark 5:23-24

But even if they refuse to forgive us...after we've tried to make amends...we are still to reach out in love!

"Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him. If he thirst, give him drink. For in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his head." Rom 12:20

Pretty powerful, huh? God's law truly is of another kind...

But back to walls.

As I've discovered, I'm not the only one that hates walls! The last few days have been a real trial for me with Baron (the famiLEE dog) who does not like his walls...the walls we refer to as a gate and fence. Somehow he seemed to know that Lee's were gone and we'd been left alone at home, and he was determined he was not going to stay in his pen. So somehow he squeezed through his wall (the gate) and got loose. Boy was he happy to be free!! He was high as a kite and bouncing all over everything, and I was afraid he might break something, or me. Thankfully I got him calmed down and put a leash on him, and took him for a run.

However, a few hours after I'd put him back in his pen, he broke out again! This time the gate was wide open! "What? How could he have done that?"

"Ok, fine!" I told him. "I will just tie you up and leave the gate open. And you can roam, at least a few feet."

Well, the next morning he had tangled himself around his feeding trough and a few other things, and was on a very short rope whining as if his life had ended. "Crazy dog!" I thought. "If only you'd stay in your pen and not break out!"

So after untangling him, I went to work...and then, after 12 tiring hours at the hospital, I finally came home. I thought I had removed all possible obstacles or entanglements, but this time he'd gone around some nearby shrubbery and tangled himself up in the bushes. Who knows how many hours he'd been there. By the looks of it, it was awhile. And because of that, he was again on the short end of his rope, unable to reach water or food, or use the phone to call for help. "Baron!? What am I to do with you?" I asked. He didn't answer but just yelped excitedly to see me!

Later while I was working on watering the garden, I watched as he used his nose to unlatch the gate and open it. He had figured out the way to open it without just pushing his weight through. "Hmmmph! So that's what you are doing, huh boy? Well, we'll fix you..." So I went and got a huge 2-ton brick, and placed it in front of the gate. This time, although he unlatched the gate, he could not push it open! Wow - maybe the problem is solved, at least until my famiLee comes home and has new ideas.

However, as I was reflecting on my frustration with Baron...it made me think of the spiritual realm.

Every time Baron got out, his excitement was boundless. He was soooo happy to be free. However, my excitement did NOT equal his! Why? Because I don't want him to get lost or attacked by neighboring dogs, or run over by cars on the road. I want the Lee's to still have a dog when they come home! And I know there is dangers out, even for a big dog! Baron, of course doesn't know that...so, thinking he is doing the best thing, he keeps breaking out. A friend of mine's dog did the same thing...he got run over by the first car that came by! I've personally lost 3 of my pets to passing cars, and one was killed by another dog! (It was tragic!) Obviously we humans know there is danger out there, so we put up walls, fences, and gates to protect our pets, our children, and others that are vulnerable and naive.

But what about the walls God puts up to protect us? I was thinking about it the other day as I was reading the 10 commandments. Many in the world see these commands as mere legalities, mere restrictions, limiting us from true life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. But actually, if we really think about it...they are walls given to protect us and to KEEP us ALIVE!! For just like when the dog got out and was killed, when we break outside the boundaries of God's law, only eternal death awaits. "There is a way that seem right unto a man, but the end thereof is death."Prov 14:12

I've been catching up on some of Eric's recent sermons on www.Ellerslie.com and one message really struck a deep cord in my heart the other day...in fact, the same day Baron broke out. It was talking about Nehemiah and rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem. Eric sums the theme of his message up like this:

"The Christian man or woman represents the greatest threat to Satan's agenda and thusly they are the brunt of his most cruel energies and most cunning stratagems. But we are not left without a defense. The book of Nehemiah showcases how this battle works. Those opposed to Nehemiah were determined to stop the building of the walls of Jerusalem, and in their opposition, they attempted to cajole Nehemiah with 9 distinct lies. These lies are the very same ones used against you and me today. First, we must recognize them as lies and then we must learn how to respond to each of them with the Word of God as our primary weapon.

What more can I say, except it was very convicting, and got me thinking about WALLS again in a positive light. So, if you are up against some walls in your life, or ready for a convicting and inspiring message, go hear Eric's full sermon for yourself at the following link: The Nine Lies

Baron is safe in his pen now. And it's time to go to bed. It's dark outside...I don't like the dark for there's all kinds of strange noises outside! (We'll save the spiritual ramifications of my "fear of the dark" for another blog post!) But let's just say that I'm glad there are walls between me and the great big unknown world that is out there right now. :-)

I guess after all, most of the time, walls are good to have!!