A Call To The Remnant

Joh 8:36 If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.

I had a dog named Jack. One of my favorite dogs. He walked without a leash, every dog I have had walks without a leash. Jack could be in full flight after a rabbit and I could call him of and he would return to me. When a bike would approach him on the trail he sat. When other dogs would pass him he ignored them. He would run the fields and the tall grass in front of me as we walked.

To get to that point it took discipline and consistency over time. There was a sternness to my voice when needed and punishment too when required. Yet, because he and I had the proper relationship, and he understood his need to submit, his need for obedience, his brokenness so to speak, it was Jack that reaped the rewards. I would say that he had more freedom than any other dog in the neighborhood. This has been my experience with the Lord. I am sure some will object to the master/dog analogy but for me it really fits. As a young man and a young Christian ( i came to the Lord at 26) I was very headstrong, rebellious and undisciplined. I marvel at the patience of my Master, my trainer. I too experienced discipline and I would say that it came mostly in the Lord allowing me to suffer the consequences of my actions. If He had shielded me from them I doubt I would have ever learned a thing.

Another aspect of my dog was that he always kept me in his line of sight. He could be fifty yards away but as long as he could see me, as long as he knew I was there, he was at rest in his activities. He could be dashing around the tall grass and suddenly his head would come up, see where I was, and then he was back to his activities. His world revolved around his proximity to his master and all was right with his world as long as he could see me and was close to me. Do you keep the Lord close? Can you see Him high and lifted up? Do you follow Him at a distance as opposed to walking side by side?

Now consider the un-disciplined dog. He walks with his leash and is always straining against it. He never gets to run, he never gets to explore, his master cannot trust him and always has to keep him on a tight leash. The disobedient dog will never experience freedom. The unruly dog is forever confined. He is constantly being choked as he pulls against his leash. Can I suggest that this is the experience of many saints, the saint who will not yield to discipline, who will not be mastered, whose will is forever clashing with the will of the Master. Jesus must be our Lord, He cannot only be our Savior. Do not listen to any theologian who would tell you otherwise.

To be obedient to the Lord is to be free. The brokenhearted and the contrite saint is the free saint. We have been called to freedom. It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery (Gal 5:1) For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives (Heb 12:6) Will you be free? Then will you bow the knee? It is in the bowing of the knee, the yielding of the spirit and the obedience to His word and voice that throws of the shackles of sin and produces a freedom and a peace that surpasses understanding.