As I sat here this morning reading through Matt Moslers “scribblings” I came upon an article that I could certainly relate to. I have two Golden Retriever dogs that are awesome dogs. They are very well trained and are amazing with my two year old son. They are brother and sister and are now four years old. My wife wanted her female golden puppy and when we went to pick her up the male was so darn cute he ended up in my lap on the way home. Earlier on I spent many a times walking the road in search of where these pups had run off to. It did not seem to matter what I did to the kennel, they would always find a way to escape. Here is Matt’s experience tied into our walk with Christ.
“Stupid dog,” I muttered over and over to myself as I walked around my neighborhood leash in hand blowing my whistle, the sound of which was supposed to make him immediately stop whatever he was doing and return to me his owner and master!! It wasn’t working.
For the second time in two days my beautiful, pure bred, extremely large, AKC registered, yellow Labrador retriever puppy with unlimited potential had escaped from my back yard. The first time he had jumped over the gate…the five foot tall gate! So I went to Home Depot and made the gate 6 feet tall. This held him in for oh, a day or so. Apparently the pull of the outside world was so strong that he devised an escape plan that included jumping on top of the bar b que grill then over the fence to freedom…or at least what he perceived as freedom.
As I contemplated his latest feat while I walked, whistled and called his name between fits of anger and bouts of tears I realized maybe he really wasn’t that stupid…just short sighted and impatient. In his quest to explore the world outside of the fence; to smell new smells, run at full speed and chase birds all day long he never once considered the reason for the fence in the first place.
I mean it would take but a second for him to get hit by a car or picked up by an abusive owner or worse someone else who would never again give him the chance to duck hunt. That would be tragic. My dog had just finished his first duck season and for a puppy did very well. With continued training and discipline there’s no telling how great he could be. But if he can’t stay inside the fence he may never get the chance to realize his unlimited potential. Stupid dog!
That’s when it hit me. I am so much like my dog…without the hops. How many times do I jump outside of my fence in search of happiness? How many times do I break the rules because of “the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life?” (I Jn. 2:16) And I wonder…how many times does my Father walk around leash in hand blowing his whistle exasperated at me for not seeing the purpose of the fence?
Stupid man! I’ve been reading a lot about “fences” these days although the author of the book doesn’t call them fences. He calls them disciplines and there are many; prayer, fasting, meditation and study among others. In his book, Celebration of Discipline author Richard Foster says the purpose of the disciplines is not to rob us of our joy or “exterminate laughter from the face of the earth” but rather to liberate us from the stifling slavery that comes with self interest and fear. (pg. 2)
The Bible says in Isaiah 57:20, “The wicked are like the tossing sea, for it cannot rest, and its waters toss up mire and dirt.” Foster writes, “The sea does not need to do anything special to produce mire and dirt; that is the result of its natural motions.”(pg. 4) Because of the effects of sin in our lives we don’t need to do anything special either to produce mire and dirt. That’s the natural motions of our lives as well.
The solution is not to “kick against the goads” (Acts 26:14) but to embrace the fences in our lives. God created us. He knows best how to utilize our gifts, talents and abilities. “His commandments are not burdensome” (I Jn. 4:3) but they must be obeyed. Failure to do so results in our own peril. (Prov. 13:15) Despite what the enemy tells us joy is fleeting outside the fence. But within the confines of the spiritual disciplines we can run as far and as fast and as long as our heart desires.
It took a while but I eventually found my dog. He was nabbed by the telephone man working down the street. He’s back now in a 10 x 10 x 6 foot dog fence with a tarp tied across the top. He’s only escaped three times…smart dog.
You can check out more of Matt’s scribblings on his website.
