Peter waited quietly as his grandfather finished the story of the Gray Knight.

"I know what it means!" exclaimed Becky excitedly. "It's about all of us Christians wearing armor so the devil can't beat us!"

"We learned about that in our Sunday School class," Caleb added quickly, not wanting to be left out on getting the answer.

Peter and Joy laughed with their grandfather at their triumphant smiles.

"You're right!" Grandpa King's-Kid confirmed with a smile. "But that's not all of it," he added. "God gave us more than just the armor to protect us."

"I know what else he gave us, Grandpa," spoke up little Aaron.

Grandpa King's-Kid looked down into the sparkling eyes of the little boy in his lap.

"What else did he give us, Aaron?" he asked.

Still remembering their narrow escape that day, Aaron hugged his grandfather warmly and said, "He gave us Grandpas!"

"Amen!" said Peter with a grin.

His grandfather hugged him back and chuckled. "You're more right than you know, son," he told him.

Setting the little boy up straight in his lap, he said quickly, "But come on now, let me tell you the rest of what the story means!"

"Oh, boy!" said Caleb. He loved the way Grandpa did their evening Bible time like a parable and then told them what it meant.

"Now, the Bible tells us that God builds a special 'hedge' around his people -- sort of like a big fence or wall -- to protect us," he began.

"Like with Job in the Bible?" Becky asked.

"Right!" he answered. "Just like with Job.

"But the hedge is a lot like our walls and fences that we make nowadays in some special ways.

"First of all, we know that fences have to be kept up and repaired from time to time, especially after storms and other things come along to knock them down.

"Well," he continued, "Job knew a lot about keeping the fence strong. The Bible tells us in the first chapter of Job that he was a good man and did the things he knew were right to do. He even prayed and asked forgiveness for his children just in case they weren't doing what they should -- and that's very important for us to look at.

"You see, the hedge God built around Job wasn't just around Job himself, it says God put it around Job, his family, and everything he owned," Grandpa stated carefully. "God's protection was for the WHOLE FAMILY!"

Grandfather King's-Kid smiled as he looked from one kid to the next and finally stopped at Peter.

"But, not only just for families, the Bible also shows us how God builds a hedge around whole nations, too!" he continued.

"It does?" asked Caleb, eyes wide with amazement.

"Yep!" Grandpa answered. "That's why the story talks about a walled CITY, because I want you to see that the wall is around a LOT of people. God puts hedges of protection around whole bunches of folks in different kinds of groups: in families, cities, states, countries, and churches, too.

"But he doesn't just stop there with the hedge. He also gives us workers in those 'walled' cities."

"Like the 'governor' and the 'guards'?" asked Joy.

"Right!" answered her grandfather.

"The governor in the story would be like the father in a family, or like our Pastor for the church." he said.

"And the President for our country," added Peter thoughtfully.

"Right again," Grandfather said smiling. "And that's one reason it's so important for us to pray for our leaders, because they have a great deal of responsibility in God's eyes.

"Now, let's look at the governor in our walled city," he said.

"He wasn't a very good governor, leaving the gates open like that," said Caleb accusingly.

"Actually, he was a good governor," Grandpa told him. "But he was so busy with so many things that it was too easy to forget something, and that's what happens in a lot of our homes and businesses today. We get so busy with what the Bible calls 'the affairs' or 'business' of day to day living that we accidentally leave some things undone. And that's one of the ways the devil finds an open door through our 'hedge' or 'wall.'

"Let's say a father goes out and works at a good job each day. He brings home money to feed and provide for his family. By normal standards they have all of the necessities of life.

"Now let's say that the family starts feeling like something is missing. Dad and mom decide to get them involved in lots of outside excursions, join some clubs, or get into lots of programs. They do everything they can to keep everybody's interest up."

Grandfather King's-Kid paused a moment and looked at the children thoughtfully. "They might get down the road a ways and find out that with all their busy activities, maybe even being strong into lots of church 'programs,' that they've left God out of their lives.

"Job knew God and walked 'perfect and upright' before Him himself," Grandpa continued, "but the Bible says he had reason to believe his kids weren't close to God.

"Job prayed for forgiveness for them 'continually.' You might say Job 'stood in the gap' that his children's sins could put in the hedge."

"Sort of like today, when Caleb left the gate open and then you saved us from Tager?" Peter asked.

"Right," his grandfather nodded. "You see, in our story of the Gray Knight, it was the governor who left the gates open, but the truth is, since the hedge is around the whole family, or church, or country, just about anybody could do something to put a hole in the hedge or to leave an 'open door' for the devil's attack on that person and others around him, too!"

"Like Achan in the Bible!" exclaimed Joy. "When the people of Israel conquered Jericho, Achan disobeyed God and took something God had forbidden them to take. Then when they went to attack the next city, they were all beaten back and lost the battle."

"Exactly," said Grandfather King's-Kid. "Having 'sin in the camp' can affect lots of people. That's one of the reasons it's important for every believer to have on the whole armor of God.

"When Job let fear and unbelief fill his life, it left all his children open to the devil's attack," he said.

"That's why God calls all believers to watch and pray always, because we all have a responsibility to help close the door against attacks.

"And," Grandpa said, "that's why it's important that we all work together in mutual love and acceptance -- in our homes, our jobs, our schools, our churches, our country -- because the Bible warns us that 'where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work!'

"When we start pointing the finger judging and condemning each other we step into sin and open a door to Satan's attacks. But, if we walk in love for God and each other, we grow stronger in our faith."

"That must be what Paul meant when he told the Galatians that 'faith works by love'," Peter said.

"That's a big part of it," his grandfather said.

"And then," he continued, "if we completeley rebel against authority and go our own way, we're like the people outside the walled city and outside the protection God has provided. It's like what Ephesians calls 'having no hope, and without God in the world'."

"Wow!" exclaimed Peter. "That would be pretty scary having no protection at all!"

"Very scary indeed!" agreed Grandfather King's-Kid. "But thank God we do have his hedge of protection, and thank God there are some very definite ways he tells us that we can keep the hedge strong!"

He smiled as all the young King's-Kids looked up at him expectantly.