"Some Clarification Required."

On my post of May 11, in the comments section, KitKat made the statement "Maybe the wall is more like the protect and provision of God to new Christians... " to which I replied "I don't believe that God gives the new believer any special EXTERNAL protection. I think that philosophy is Once Saved Always Saved. What He gives them is internal, New Found Virtue by which they can resist the old familiar external temptations."

So after I had posted that comment, I continued to think about it and God brought this verse to my mind: Ps 91:1 He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. 2 I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust. 3 Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence. 4 He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.

Psalms 17 and 36 also speak of the Shadow of the Almighty.

And then I was listening to Scorbee at work the other day and I heard this: Job 1:8 And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil? 9 Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, Doth Job fear God for nought? 10 Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land. 11 But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face.

So we see that God does afford external protection for his saints, but the effectiveness of that protection is dependent upon OUR actions. We must dwell (live, have all of our existence) in the secret place of the Most High in order to abide under the Shadow of the Almighty.

I like the imagery of the Over Shadowing Wing of God, like a nesting fowl protecting it's young from the elements and from predators. At any time, the young chick can scurry from that protection, and at anytime the wandering chick can return, without impedance, into the protective warm.

I saw a very good picture of this the other day at the local home supply store. A pair of Geese had made their nest in one of the planter boxes right in front of the store. The sitting goose would raise its head as high as it could and hiss and bend upon every person who approached too close the Hairy Goose Eye. The third to last time that I was there, I noticed with delight, that two of the eggs had hatch. Two little yellow fluff balls where staggering about the nesting mound. For a brief period the attendant goose stood upon the nest and the two chicks huddled beneath it. Then when it was time for the goose to sit back upon the three remaining eggs, the two goslings where foisted out to huddle by themselves, looking most forlorn, if I can take the liberty of transferring my human emotions to the dumb beasts.

This has invoked in me a very curious notion. Can we not learn from God's glorious creation how we ought to behave? In the scope of this discussion, I would say that the goslings are mature Christians, and the attendant Goose is like God. That would then make the un-hatched eggs "new believers", unquestionably, inexorably dependent upon the covering and warmth of the sire and dam for existence. If we are called to be like Christ, who was God, that then places an incredible responsibility upon us for the well being of new believers.