Living on the Edge

My apologies to my neighbors.  I'm sure my three dogs were the alarm clock no one wanted to hear.  I had the dogs quietly walking on their leashes when they spotted a rabbit just a few feet away.  They strained and pulled us in the rabbit's direction.  The rabbit moved one foot away in the direction we were headed, not in the opposite direction!  Again the dogs inched toward the rabbit.  The rabbit moved just another foot away in our direction!   Since the rabbit didn't run away, like every other smart rabbit had done,  the dogs thought they actually could catch this rabbit.  They erupted into a furry pack of barking, chirping and howling.  I kept asking the rabbit to run as I pulled the black pack up the street.

I was amazed at this foolhardy rabbit.  It was a larger rabbit. Youthful ignorance could not be its excuse.   I walk the dogs every morning on the same route.  All the other rabbits have seen us pass by.  Surely my three dogs were the topic of the rabbit morning gossip session.  Why would this rabbit live  on the edge of such danger? (Two of the three dogs are "catch and release only" but one of them does try to consume his catch.  More than once I've had to "put my big girl pants on", gather a shovel to take an unfortunate victim away from the dog and toss it over the fence.  My husband gets a text to dig a grave  on his lunch hour.)

I thought of that foolish rabbit who disregarded all sensibility to torment my dogs, and my sleeping neighbors, when I read Psalm 1.  This psalm contrasts the benefits gained by meditating on God's law and being meaningless, like chaff in the wind.  Staying close to God's law leads to prosperity and protection.

The visual image used in this psalm is a tree planted by streams of water.  The tree was intentionally planted near the nourishing water, a wise choice.  Tree roots will grow deep into the earth to reach the water. This tree planter wisely choose a spot near the water, to make it more convenient.  The life giving water is close enough to be seen and appreciated.

I thought about the rabbit's foolish choice to remain on the very edge of disaster and the very wise choice of planting a tree at the edge of the necessary ingredient for a productive life.  Too many people in today's world are like that rabbit.  They make choices that keep them inches from mortal danger.  What sense does it make?

The psalm compared the foolish to "chaff in the wind."  The song lyric by the group "Kansas" popped into my head.  "All we are is dust in the wind."  A depressing thought.  This psalm reminds that life on the edge of disaster is temporary but God's way leads to eternity.

I'd like to be more than dust blown to and fro by unseen forces. If I want a life of meaning,  I can take control of the influences guiding my life.  I can choose to study the Word and consider how it applies in my daily life. God's way will give my  life  perspective,  protection  and promise.  I want the kind of life grown from being like a tree near the stream.  Rather than live on the edge of disaster, it makes sense for me to live on the edge of eternity.