Little Fox

"Catch for us the foxes, the little foxes that ruin the vineyards, our vineyards that are in bloom." (Song of Solomon 2:15) A little thorn may cause much pain. A little cloud may hide the sun. Little foxes spoil the vines; and little sins do harm to the tender heart and make people miserable. Jesus will not walk with people closely unless they turn away from every known sin.

Last night, our renter house's neighbor Mr. Nunns called us that the other neighbor Mrs. Williams complained about our purple flower tree in the front yard. She requested us to trim it. She called Mr. Nunns and the lawn guy Gilbert. So both guys conveyed her words to us yesterday. She called a couple of month ago to complain that our renter didn't take care of the grass outside the backyard fence. We drove by and didn't see anything different of our grass from hers. So we didn't even bother talking to our renter. This time David drove by the house again after work. The purple flower tree looked fine. But David still paid the lawn guy to trim the flower tree a little bit. Finally, David concluded: what can we expect from her- a bitter, angry, selfish person? Even at her husband's death bed, she was counting to her husband all the bad things that could happen to her if he continues to live: the hospital bill will be high and she might be in debt. As the result, Mr. Williams chose to take off the life support line. David and I felt pity on her. We didn't know what she went through. The only thing we know was the complaints and accusation through her mouth. Apparently, "the little fox" has been active in her life for a long time. The wall has blocked her from enjoying our Savior's presence.

It's easier to see the problems in other people's life. Mrs. Williams reminded us to constantly check on our lives: Is there a little fox in our live? Do we chase it away if we see one? And most importantly, do we hide from Christ's face at any moment? ... If we are not watchful, someday, we might find ourselves a ruined vineyard.

David was encouraged by his study with Ray tonight. Ray told him that he remembered every story in the NT that they read. Ray also wanted to study Bible at a deeper level now. He asked David where he could buy some stationary and decoration that have Bible Scriptures in it. We pray that God will use us at any level to draw him closer to God!