The Fringe

So often I hear people saying that believing in God requires blind faith but this just isn't so. Our God is very visual, loving to do things that reveal who he is and setting reminders to provoke memory. We find this throughout the Old Testament, especially in the various festivals that marked important events in the relationship between Yahweh and Israel. We also find this in the New Testament as Jesus broke the bread and passed the wine telling his disciples to do this in order to remember.

If you care to read the New Testament carefully you may note that Yahweh never asked people to believe blindly. There was always some kind of manifestation of God or his power and then people believed. Even when it comes to the receiving of the Holy Spirit there is a manifestation that often either provokes us to tears or to laughter.

However, there is an every day manifestation that acts as a reminder that we almost always overlook. In the Old Testament, Yahweh gave a daily reminder to his people to help them stick to the narrow way:

"This will be your fringe. You will see it and remember all the Lord's commands and do them. Then you won't go exploring the lusts of your own heart or your eyes. In this way you'll remember to do all my commands. Then you will be holy to your God." (Numbers 15:39-40)

We have been given a fringe of sorts as well; we call it the Bible. It is suppose to be part of our adornment, as we spend time in it daily. Spending our time there will keep us from exploring the lusts of our heart and eyes by reminding us of our first love: Jesus. It constantly points us to Jesus and reminds us that we are holy because we are possessed by him.

Our effort will never keep us from sin but when we are daily renewed in Jesus' love for us and ours for him, we will never want to sin; we will never want to speak against anyone; we will always want the best for everyone; we will always want to honour our Lord with our words, actions and thoughts. It is not because of the threat of hell but because we want to honour him with all our heart that will keep us on the narrow path. And where we are weak and stumble, his grace will carry us home.

Without our "fringe" we will wonder away, because that is our nature. Without our "fringe" we will fall into the many pits of sin because we are that dumb. Without our "fringe" we will fall victim to the many false gods of this world because we are that short sighted. Our God knows us, our unfaithful heart and our imperfect nature. This is why he gave us the visible, tangible Bible as our "fringe" and why he is always with us, never forsaking us.

We can't do this on our own and our Lord is only too happy to visually remind us that he is with us. Open the eyes of our heart Lord and help us overcome our unbelief. You are visible to your children every day.