Straddling the Fence

During a sermon at church one day, our pastor talked about Christians who were “straddling the fence”.  This brought to my mind one particular afternoon in my childhood when my brother and I were out exploring behind our farm house.  There were barbed wire fences outlining all of the separate pastures, so to get across the fences we would take turns prying two of the prickly strands apart for the other to crawl through. This took patience and precision!  On this particular day, I let my brother through first and then he pried the strands of wire open for me to crawl through.  I carefully bent over at the waist and put one leg through, placing my foot on the ground on the other side.  As I attempted to pull the other leg through, I realized that my long pony tail was caught on the top strand and that I was stuck…I was literally straddling that barbed wire fence! 

 

 

 

 Now just imagine how uncomfortable that was being trapped there atop that razor sharp barbed wire with one leg on each side.  I couldn’t go back the way I came from and I couldn’t move forward to the other side.  Isn’t this just like the Christians that want to keep one foot in the old way of life and one foot in their new life with Christ?  They are stuck.  They cannot be fully surrendered to either side. 

 

 

Imagine that one side of this fence is the old sinful life…pre-salvation.  Sometimes newly converted (and sometimes not-so-newly converted) Christians try to hold on to their past lives of sin, even after giving their heart to Jesus.  But because the Holy Spirit is residing in them, they do experience conviction.  This makes it pretty miserable for them every time they slide back into their old ways.  As a Christian, going back to visit the sins of the past will never make them happy.  Therefore, they are not fully surrendered to sin. 

 

John 16:8 NLT “And when He comes [Holy Spirit], he will convict the world of its sin, and of God’s righteousness, and of the coming judgment.”

 

On the other side of this fence is a new life in Christ…post-salvation.  Many Christians see others that have peace and joy and seem to flourish in the Lord’s work, but they just can’t get to that place in their walk because the old familiar sin keeps them tied to their old life.  They are afraid of change; afraid to step over into the unknown.  Therefore, they are not fully surrendered to God.

 

Romans 6:22-23 NIV “ But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

 This is a very uncomfortable position to be in.  The bible tells us in Matthew 6:24 "No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other.”  Christians straddling the fence are trying to serve two masters and they are miserable.  Why would anyone choose to live this way? 

As I crouched there that day, stuck between those strands of barbed wire with my hair holding me in place, all I wanted was to be free. I think that’s what “Fence-Straddling Christians” want too…they want to be free.  My brother was there to help me and untangle me from that fence.  He pulled me through to freedom on the other side.  I believe our job as Christians is to help our brothers and sisters get free. We need to stop judging and start praying…just as scripture instructs us to do.

I John 5:14-16 NIV “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him. If you see any brother or sister commit a sin that does not lead to death, you should pray and God will give them life.”

Are you straddling the fence, stuck between two lives?  Ask the Lord to rescue you today.  Move forward with Him and He will give you peace and freedom like you have never known. Or maybe you know someone that needs your help getting off of that fence?  Commit to pray for them today. Help them get untangled from sin by loving them and being a good example.  Freedom is waiting on the other side of the fence.