No trespassing.

Growing up I used to live not far from an amazing forest. It claimed to have once been home to a dragon, but more than this I think it was a young boy’s natural sense of adventure and fertile imagination which made it so exciting. You could easily spend all day in the wood finding new places, or discovering rope swings left by others; it was an unending wonderland.
But there were places you couldn’t go; not all of the forest was open to the public. You could be running through the trees one second and the next you were confronted by an unending rusty wire fence barring your progress, covered with signs reading “private - no trespassing!” I’m sure that you are familiar with such signs.

I only recollected this because yesterday as I was thinking about the Lord’s Prayer and I mad this strange connection: “…Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us…” (Matt 6:12-13)

It was appearance of this word ‘trespass’ that fascinated me.

Here we are asking forgiveness for our wrong doing as well as being prepared to give other for their wrong doing. But instead of saying ‘wrong doings’ it uses the word ‘trespass’. The wording suggests that there are areas of life, or deeds and thoughts into which we should not wander – we don’t belong there. When we fail God or hurt others we are trespassing into territory that is not our home.

We do not belong to sin – we belong to Christ!
When we stray from the path set before us, when we fail to walk the way Jesus would, we are trespassing, walking in territory where we do not belong.
“You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ.” (Rom 8:9 NIV)
“And you also are among those who are called to belong to Jesus Christ.” (Rom 1:6 NIV)
“If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.” (Rom 14:8 NIV)

Remaining on the path, in our territory, is not limiting [to those in Christ] it is liberating!Our natural sense of adventure and love of live will keep us close to Jesus.

- Andrew Carey