Working at home during the day, which is a rabbit warren of
an apartment complex, my window faces a common area. I saw a young man I’d not
seen before with his dog. Dogs are supposed to be on leashes, but this guy
released the pet’s leash and let his dog romp, sniff and explore. It made friends with another dog.
Happy and bouncy, the dog had a blast, yet never ran off or
stayed far from his master’s watchful eye. He stayed within the parameters of
the common area. Then, after a few minutes, the master gave a short whistle.
Immediately the dog bounded back in obedience and stood quietly as the young
man reattached his leash. Together they walked away, the dog matching the man’s
steps.
You see where this is leading, right? What a beautiful image
of how we should be with God. If we are obedient, He will give us a bit of
freedom to live in this world, as long as we know our “bound”aries and stay
within them. Those boundaries are His
laws in Scripture. He sent His son to fulfill those laws called the 10
commandments. Our job is to stay under
our Master’s watchful eye which is always on us, and to return when He calls.
What is the leash? His Holy Spirit. We must be bound to it
in order to know how to behave. It is the staff of the Shepherd to yank us out
of danger. That inward whisper not to go any further, but to turn around and
come back. The Holy Spirit of Christ living in us until we meet Him face to
face in the clouds guides us and teaches us. It may seem restrictive at times,
but it’s for our own good.
If we are obedient, God may let us loose in the world a bit
as His hands and feet. But, if we are disobedient and stray, He will call us
back. I hope, when that happens, and being human and flawed it will, I bound
back in eager obedience just like that dog in the common grounds. I sit quietly
as the Holy Spirit once more becomes my lead and walk alongside my Master,
pacing myself with His steps. May I always be bound by that.
2John 1:6 And
this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from
the beginning, his command is that you walk in love.
