Like most members of the educated cyber world, I am deathly afraid of either being hacked or contracting some nasty computer bug. I went for nearly twenty years without a binary-based infection before finally inadvertently letting a computer Trojan loose on my machine this past year. The cure cost $100 and it took an entire day to rid myself of some evil person’s warped software creation. I don’t want to repeat the experience any time in the next twenty years.
I have always been computer cautious and my computer was protected with everything but bubble wrap just a few days ago. My OS platform, however, was continually slowing down and increasingly getting unstable. I did research and attempted to do all the correct updates to no avail. I even experienced the “blue screen of death” several times in the past month. It is never a good thing when a computer apologizes and then tells you it is doing a dump (I AM NOT MAKING THIS UP!). To add to my injury Pandora stopped working and my computer resident media player stuttered continually. No tunes at work was simply too much to bear.
Out of desperation, I started turning my protection suite off. Each program that I shut down resulted in much better computer performance and then I found the mother lode! I turned off my firewall and now my internet browser screams, my music no longer stutters, my stations on Pandora are working. LIFE IS GREAT!
I am very happy but my computer is at some level of yet unknown risk.
As a human, I am compelled to protect myself as much as possible from pain and hurt. Since people are proficient at conveying both pain and hurt I have installed barriers and obstacles to restrict access to my heart. The system I keep in place slows my compassion response time considerably and makes me suffer under the unstable system of skepticism.
Hiding behind my “firewall” is not the way to follow Jesus. Instead of remaining in the heavens and speaking from the sky God spoke in person to Jacob, Jeremiah and John. Instead of doing his work by command from the safety of his throne, God walked with Adam, Abram and Andrew.
God set the standard for love without protective measure. That love lives inside me, and so down comes my firewall and I now live happy and my heart is at some level of yet unknown risk.
Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other. (Romans 12:9-10, NLT)
TheNarrowRoadPursued 
I see you didn’t hang on but jumped first! Hmmm …Where does firewall and discernment and guard your heart for it is the well spring of life intertwine? I get love with abandon …But 😛 ….
Many people forget the nature of our example of love. The same one who allowed himself to be betrayed also turned over the tables in the Temple. The same one who served his disciples enough to wash their feet also scolded them for too little faith. The same one who spoke grace to the woman caught in adultery also unleashed on the religious leaders of the day.
My computer firewall will have to be up from time to time, I am not immune to the dangers of working online. My heart’s firewall will have to be up from time to time, I am not yet wise enough to know how to be rightly vunerable. What cannot happen is for the protection of my heart to be the most important thing in my life so much so that I cannot do the work Jesus commands me to do. Work that is dangerous, work that will get me hurt (at minimum in my heart), work that embraces the risk for the joy of being able join with Jesus in saying “Yes, Lord.”
I often wonder about Jesus wandering through Galilee choosing his disciples. Did he ever think, “Peter, Lord…you have got to be kidding!”; “A tax collector Lord?”; “A thief and betrayer, Lord?” For my part I am grateful that he risked all so that his work coul be quickly and correctly done!
“Love without protective measure…”Incredible phrase. Very insightful and you should hook this somehow into a sermon series because the truth here is desperately needed. One very small comment…it is, in my experience not necessarily always that one wishes to avoid pain, but to consider for themselves the value of the pain that they will endure for the sake of another. Since our value system is most often based, not on God-ethics but a warped and perverted worldy one we devalue ourselves, devalue the reward of selflessness, and devalue the Creator who, in His ultimate wisdom says “greater love hath none than to lay down his life for another.” The arms of the Cross are indeed open wide are they not?
So wide open I cannot see the extent! Good word!
I agree …I think loving with abandon and godly discernment need to go hand in hand. We called to love everyone …not love defined as the world defines but as God defines it ..And that can look very different in each situation …I can love someone and still discipline them ..I can love someone and not be enmeshed with them and that is where godly discernment comes in …I think there has to be a distinction between loving someone and having a relationship with them …I can love anyone and anything but to have a relationship with someone it takes two and it also takes godly discernment as whether God want me to be in a relationship with that person. So I guess to borrow your analogy …I would take down my “worldwall” aka the firewall but I would stay in the protective arms of my God wall aka discernment. I can still love with abandon but the next step of having relationships or the actions that follow those steps have to be ordained by God. So often we get into situation that we think are godly and are good but they are not the path God wanted us to be on but we didn’t stop and ask. We said of course God wants us to X because it is a good thing …but God didn’t want us to do that …So for me the two have to be linked. For example …I am called by God to be a godly wife …and that is my heart’s desire. There is nothing Chelc can do or not do …say or not say that can block me from being a godly wife …he could choose to be a complete bafoon ..which he isn’t …and that would not stop me from being a godly wife ..from loving with abandon …and for acting on that love …There will be hurts and pains ..joys and celebrations ..but it is what God wants me to do …So in his strength I can hang on to the ledge with my pinkie and He will hold me up and overcome because He has me by all the 9 fingers I have given him 🙂 …I just haven’t discerned enough to let my pinkie go 🙂 ..