It hurts when a brother or sister walks away from their faith, doesn’t it? What can you do when someone you love walks away from their faith? Simply be there for them if possible, and pray. That’s reactive, of course, if someone decidedly turns away. But we can also be proactive to make sure it doesn’t happen in the first place.
And that’s why this powerful illustration in the Songs of Songs works so well. If we are open, honest, and integral with each other, we stand a better chance of catching the little foxes before they cause chaos in our vineyards. In Judges 15, Samson grabs 300 foxes and fastens burning torches to their tails. He lets them loose in the fields of the Philistines, and it causes absolute carnage. “He burned up the shocks and standing grain, together with the vineyards and olive groves.”
Imagine that carnage being the result of Christian lives led separately and out of fellowship with each other. A wood fire only works if the pieces of wood connect with each other. A single piece of wood soon burns out. There’s a reason why Jesus is building a wider church of individuals rather than individuals who think they are a church in themselves. We need each other to encourage, rebuke kindly, and fight for one another. We also need to look out for each other’s foxes, those little evil things that destroy (spiritually, not literally!), and help to catch them before it’s too late.
Let’s pray:
Father God,
Please help me to catch the little foxes of sin and doubt before they ruin my vineyard. Help me to support others too, in these spiritual battles. Thank you that I don’t need to live in fear, though, because your grace is sufficient for me. Your love holds me firm and steady is your word, for you protect me and my brothers and sisters. If this is a battle of light against darkness, I am on the winning side of the wider war. Your cross did it all, and you declared, “It is finished!” I walk by faith, not by sight. God is love, and I love you. Amen.
