The Soccer Ball Story

My mom had already left for work, and I was to accompany my dad for the day at the electronics business he owned.  Dad got me dressed and gave me a bit of breakfast, then told me that I could play with my soccer ball in the back yard while he was getting dressed.  There was only one stipulation: if I kicked the ball over the fence, I was not allowed to go retrieve it on my own.  Though our east Texas town was small, we lived on a main thoroughfare which saw a lot of traffic.  It was too dangerous for a five-year-old to walk near the road alone.

I kicked the ball around while dad was inside showering and getting dressed.  And of course, it wasn’t long before I kicked the ball directly over the fence in the direction of the busy street.  I stopped for a moment, remembering my father’s instructions, “Do not go outside of the fence.”  Of course my father loved me, but he probably didn’t realize how responsible of a five year old I was.  And the ball didn’t really go very far.  It looked easy enough to step outside the fence, retrieve my soccer ball, then return to the backyard.  So I looked toward the house, trying to determine if my father were watching me.  I didn’t see him, so I walked to the gate and sort of stood there for a moment.  One more peek toward the house, then I quickly opened the gate, ran at a blistering speed toward the ball, picked it up, and ran back inside the safety of the fence.  There!  Done!  No harm!  And I returned to my previous activity of kicking the ball.

A few minutes later my father opened the sliding glass door and called for me.  I came inside and dad asked me to sit down.  He then asked me the most piercing question I had ever had to contemplate, “Did you go outside the fence?”  Without much thought, I immediately responded, “No sir.”  My father then confronted me with the fact that he had actually watched from the kitchen window as I left the security of the fence to retrieve my ball.  Not only was I in trouble for disobeying his plain instruction, but I was also in trouble for lying about it.  I’ll never forget my father saying, “I put that fence up to protect you.”  I was in trouble for disobeying and lying about it.

This is a true story which occurred in the summer of 1978, but it wasn’t until 2010 that God planted the meaning of it into my heart.  God’s law, the Ten Commandments, act as a “fence” for His children.  He did not give the law to keep us from having a good time, but to protect us from harm, and from His punishment against sin.  So many times we are tempted to break God’s law by thinking that it’s not a dangerous act, and then when we seem to experience no immediate consequences we’re deceived into believing that we God away with it.  But make no mistake, there are consequences.  Judgement will come for all who are not found in Christ.  Run back to God today and admit your sin and receive His pardon through Jesus Christ.

Blessings, 

Pastor Bruce

bruce.cullom@gmail.com