THREE DOGS

Being made free from sin you have become the servants of righteousness. Romans 6:16

If the Son makes  you free you shall be free indeed. John 8:36            

There are three types of dogs usually found in any city. The first is the large dog who has been chained to a stake in the ground. The owner does not care for him.   The dog will go round and round on his three foot chain all day long.  He will wear a circle in the ground and has no freedom to run.  Even the casual observer will see that this great animal was not made for that kind of treatment.

The second dog is one that has been put out on the streets of the city or dumped off in the country by his owner.  He is totally free and has no one to obey.  He is on his own.  If he is in the country, he will eventually be killed by coyotes, join another pack  of  wild  dogs, or get shot  by an angry rancher who is protecting his livestock.  If in the city, this dog will be caught by the dog­ catcher.  Sooner or later he will be taken to the dog pound and put to sleep.

These first two dogs serve as a picture of the lives of two kinds of people.  The first person has no liberty at all in his life. He is in bondage to rules and regulations.   He watches others pass by and is jealous of their freedom.  He knows life was meant to be more than what he is experien­cing but despairs of it every  happening  to him.

The second dog, although  totally free, is like the first.  He reminds us of people who are in bondage to things that offer  freedom such as habits like drugs, alcohol, fame, fortune, power, abuse, passions, or a host of other things.  He finds bondage  to these ”freedoms” which ul­timately destroy.  He one day realizes that he was not meant for this and becomes frustrated. He has given in to any and everything only to find he is worse off than he was before. Broken promises of freedom  are in his thoughts.

The last dog is the one we admire.  He is the big dog walking in the park with his owner. As we watch him it is soon evident that he is cared for and has one who watches out for him.  He is healthy  and seems  happy.   He enjoys  being close to his master.  He is allowed  to run free yet always under the watchful eye of his mas­ter. We know he is loved and cared for at home– he will probably live a long, healthy life. This dog has found liberty staying close to his master. He was meant to be free and happy and this ”freedom”  comes  when he stays close to his loving  master.  

He  is  a picture  of  true liberty.  As a Christian, we find that although there  seems  to  be  temporary   joy  in getting away from Jesus, in the end it brings bondage and death. The enjoyable part of our Christian life is that Christ has not just given us a set of rules to be followed  but a relationship to be enjoyed.   He is actively  involved  in our wel­fare.  He really cares for us.