Introduction

A preacher once shared this parable—The Man on the Fence (author unknown)

There was a large group of people gathered. On one side of the group stood Jesus. On the other side stood Satan. Separating the two of them, was a fence running through the middle of the group.

Both Jesus and Satan began calling to the people in the group. One by one, each having made up his or her own mind, went to either Jesus or Satan. The continued for a time as they chose sides.

Soon enough, Jesus had gathered around him a group of people from the original large crowd, as did Satan. However, one man joined neither group but, instead, chose to climb the fence and sat there.

When the day was ending, Jesus and His people left and Satan, and his people, left as well. The man on the fence sat alone.

As he continued to sit, Satan returned and walked up to the man on the fence. The man inquired, “Have you forgotten something?”

Satan looked straight at the man upon the fence and said, “No, but you’ll come with me.”

The man replied, “But I didn’t choose a side; I didn’t choose you or Jesus. I sat on the fence.”

Satan replied to him, “Oh, that’s okay. You see, I own the fence.”

You Must Choose

Going back to the Old Testament, Joshua made this declaration to the children of Israel, “Now therefore, fear the LORD, serve Him in sincerity and in truth, and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the River and in Egypt. Serve the LORD! And if it seems evil to you to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD” (Joshua 24:14-15).

So many people don’t want to choose sides. They’d prefer to straddle the fence. If you don’t choose, the choice will be made for you.

Conclusion

If you are straddling the fence, just remember who owns that fence. Satan has no problem collecting those who won’t choose sides. As Jesus said, “He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad.” (Matthew 12:30)