You Fence Straddler, You!

I think that those just might be fighting words. Yes! I am almost positive that if someone would throw those four little words at me in the heat of an argument.."You fence straddler, You!"..it would undoubtedly end in blows. 

Those are some very harsh words. The implication is that you can't..or won't..take a definitive stand on an issue. You will not make up your mind one way of the other. You simply refuse to take action..to be one thing or the other. Wow! That isn't an easy truth to accept about yourself. So, of course, you would get defensive..even violent. I certainly would. And have!

Most of us are pretty good people. We help elderly people reach things on the top shelf in the grocery store. We swerve to miss animals in the road. We don't lie about the important things. We leave the waitress a tip at a buffet. We answer the phone the third time our mothers leave an urgent voice mail. 

Some of us are even good Christians. We slide into our seat every Sunday just in time for the word. We carefully..and faithfully..calculate our offering so that it is more than half of what our tithe would have been. We always drop off a covered dish at church events. We are willing to help out in different ministries if they can't get anybody else to do it and it doesn't conflict with our schedule. We always paste those smiles firmly on our face and smile at Sister So and So as we enter the sanctuary after slamming the car door on  the huge fight we had with the family in the car. 

Yes, we are good people. Correction..we are good Christian people. Who can question us? Our hearts? Our motives? Who can tell us that we aren't fast tracked to heaven?

Are you sitting down? (No? You may want to grab you a seat. And some tissues. This is about to get ugly.)

Jesus is not a fan of the fence straddler. 

You are either all in. Or out. Hot or cold. There is no middle ground. There is no such thing as a good person. There is no such thing as a good Christian person. You are either saved. Or not. Sold out for God. Or not. 

Revelations 3:15-16 tells us, "I know everything you have done, and you are not cold or hot. I wish you were either one or the other. But since you are lukewarm and neither cold nor hot, I will spit you out of my mouth." 

I didn't say it. So if you want to get upset and fight somebody..you'll have to take that up with Jesus. But that is a scary thought. Jesus says that he will spit the fence straddler out of his mouth. Wow! I'm sure you are familiar with one of the most highly publicized scriptures in the secular world. John 3:16. Normally, I study from the CEV but I'm going to give you this from KJV simply because -eth makes action verbs sound so much stronger..more important.

          Jesus says, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

Let's take a look at the verbs: loved! gave! believeth! (not perish =) live! have!

God is a God of action. He doesn't straddle the fence. He stands firmly on the side of love and righteousness and truth. I've seen God ice cold in His anger with the enemies of His children. And I've seen Him smoking hot in His undeserved grace and loving kindness and long suffering with His children. I've yet to see him straddle the fence. 

God does not straddle the fence. God is a doer. He takes actions. And the bible tells us to be doers of the word too, not just hearers. Doers. People who do the word. Do. The. Word. (James 1:22)

What God does do is love. And God commands us to love. To love Him above all others and to love our neighbors as ourselves. 1 John 5:3 says "this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments: and His commandments are not grievous." God didn't command us to do anything that would cause us grief or pain or anguish. So why then must we sit so comfortably on that dang fence? 

It's time to take action. Being a good person isn't enough. Being a good Christian isn't enough. It is time for us to get busy. To do the word. To be the living, breathing hands and feet of Jesus. Because quite honestly, I don't know about you but the thought of Jesus spitting me out offends me way more than being called a dang fence straddler!

Get off the fence, my friend!