Wells, Not Fences: Moving Toward the Living Water of Peace and Inclusion
In the vast and rugged landscapes of Australia, where water and feed are scarce, some cattle stations are so immense they could swallow entire U.S. states, even Texas. Traditionally, farmers would build enormous fences around these properties, attempting to define and defend their boundaries. Yet those who know the land best have discovered that this method—while appearing seemingly secure—is costly, laborious, and ultimately ineffective.
This image provides a powerful metaphor for how we often treat faith and religion. Throughout history, Christians have defined their religious identity through rigid boundaries—what theologians call a closed set perspective. But this approach has fostered division among Christians, denominations and interfaith interaction. This has led to church splits to put of violence done in Gods name, leaving many spiritually parched at best.
What if there were a better way? What if we shifted our focus from building fences to digging wells/dams—drawing people toward the life-giving center of faith: God’s love and mercy?
The Closed Set: Boundaries and Conflict
On Australian farms, fences require endless maintenance. Farmers spend countless hours patrolling the perimeters, patching holes, and worrying about cattle wandering outside the lines. Likewise, in the closed set perspective of religion, the focus is on who is “in” and who is “out.” Belief and behaviour are policed according to rigid doctrines, and anyone who fails to conform is excluded.
This binary thinking leads to division, suspicion, and sometimes hostility. Like cattle pressing up against the fence, people become more interested in what lies beyond the boundary or being as close to the boundary a possible, than in the nourishment and safety found at the center – That being christ. Worse yet, fences not only keep insiders in—they keep outsiders out, blocking the very people who are most in need of spiritual water, to be seperated from even getting close to living water/Christ.
As Paul Hiebert noted, boundary-focused faith distorts religion into a static ideology that values conformity over godly trait of compassion. Robert Brinsmead warned that it breeds arrogance, estrangement, and conflict—what we might call “holy wars” of the heart and mind.
The Open Set: Digging Wells at the Center
Some Australian farmers have abandoned fences entirely, choosing instead to build wells. When life-giving water is available, the cattle naturally stay close, and those who wander soon return, drawn back by thirst.
This is the open set perspective: faith defined not by boundaries but by a center/Jesus christ. In Christianity and other faiths alike, The people are attracted to the center which has God’s love and mercy—what Jesus called the Living Water at the centre of this living water is Christ himself. Membership is no longer about rigid conformity, but about movement toward this center, the journey one takes to come closer to Discoverying christ. This way welcomes and nourishes all who seek it.
Jesus Himself embodied this spirit when He said: “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink” (John 7:37). And He reminded His followers: “Whoever is not against you is for you” (Luke 9:50).
The open set perspective recognizes that faith is a journey. Like cattle moving toward a life giving well, people come from different directions and at different paces, but the direction—toward God’s love—is what matters most.
Advantages of the Well
Focusing on the well rather than the fence has profound spiritual benefits:
- People are drawn inward to Christ, rather than testing the boundaries.
- Wanderers know where to return when they feel lost.
- With eyes fixed on the Living Water, they are less distracted by temptations at the edge.
- Outsiders are not blocked but invited in to drink and be refreshed.
- Pastors and leaders spend less time policing fences and more time guiding hearts toward the center.
As Stanley Jones wisely said, “Get the center right, and the circumference takes care of itself.”
A Call to Interfaith Unity
This approach is not just for individual believers but for entire faith communities. In 2007, on Eid al-Fitr, a coalition of Muslim leaders issued a letter to Christian churches worldwide, calling for peace, justice, and cooperation rooted in our shared love of God and neighbor. This historic moment echoed Jesus’ own words about the greatest commandments: “Love the Lord your God” and “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Mark 12:30–31).
Rather than defending our faith as if it were a fortress, we are invited to live out its true spirit: a well of love and inclusion that transcends boundaries and fosters peace.
let us Rip down those fences and allow those of different beliefs to come and see the adavtantage of the living water.
Conclusion: The Direction Matters
Doctrinal fences and moral standards have their place, just as property lines have their place on a farm. But what truly sustains the flock is not the fence—it’s the water. What truly sustains faith is not boundary enforcement but the Living Water of Jesus Christ.
So the question is not: Are the fences strong enough? but: Are we moving closer to the water or drifting away?
By embracing the open set perspective, centered on love, inclusion, and mutual respect, we can break cycles of division and violence—both within and between faiths. We can reimagine faith not as a fortress to defend, but as a compassionate well to move toward, inviting all people to join the shared journey of loving God and loving neighbor.
As Jesus promised:
“Whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life” (John 4:14).
Let’s stop obsessing over fences. Let’s dig wells. Let’s keep our eyes on the Living Water.
