What Losing my Dogs Taught me About Relationship with Christ
My dogs got out yesterday and we couldn’t find them for two hours.
One of them is really old and has mobility issues and I knew she wouldn’t make it for very long in the August heat far from home. In our angst to find them and bring them back home, we mobilized the troops. I immediately started texting neighbors, I posted on the neighborhood Facebook group, Tyler went searching for them on his bike and I went searching for them in a different direction through the woods on foot, and I later drove around the neighborhood stopping to appeal for assistance from any neighbor who was walking or doing yard work.
The experience really made me start to think about the relationship between boundaries vs. freedom in our life with Christ. I’ll tell you the rest of Molly and Sophie’s story and you can consider whether or not it has any parallels in your life and relationship with Jesus.
Through this incident, I learned that our electric fence (If you’re not an electric fence person, please don’t judge me. One of our dogs was a jumper and this is the first method that has worked to keep her safely in our yard.) had actually been out of commission for a while but my husband couldn’t find the break. He wasn’t alarmed by it because the dogs had demonstrated that they knew their boundaries. Even with the fence down, he noticed that they were faithful to stay within the boundaries, which kept them safe; he was confident that there was no reason for alarm.
Faithful living offers the freedom to choose to stay within the boundaries.
Over time, the seasons changed, and the weeds grew into areas that had previously been on the other side of the electric fence – now the boundary was no longer very clear. As such, the dogs started to wander, having lost their sense that breaching the boundary would be harmful to them and unfaithful to us. Before long, they were no longer wandering, they were exploring…curious and wondering if they were missing out on something good, they broke free to do their own thing.
It is enticing, isn’t it? Have you ever been there?
It’s the human condition – it’s the same place where Adam and Eve found themselves. Left with the freedom and authority to make their own choices under God’s instructions. But the idea of being like God (in the case of the dogs – to be like humans) was just too enticing. Even though God had told Adam and Eve that eating of that one tree would surely lead to death, they doubted God’s motives, thinking that He was holding back the fullness of life.
That’s what my dogs thought. If they could talk:
Molly:
Let’s do what we want – let’s go – let’s find out what’s on the other side.
Sophie:
Surely staying here is not our best life – how could it be? There’s more out there for us to do and see and know.
The deceptiveness of the conventional idea of “freedom” is remarkable.
Like Adam and Eve, our dogs quickly discovered that going beyond the boundaries that we had set for them came with a whole new set of issues – issues they would have avoided if they had remained faithful.
WE FOUND THE DOGS!
We found them when they were trying to find their way home. They were once again wandering, but this time lost, confused, tired and vulnerable. We came to their rescue, brought them back into the house, provided them with water and food, and immediately set up new boundaries for them so that they couldn’t wander off again. We love them so we have to keep them safe.
Although they did get experiences that were new and different, they weren’t better.
The new freedom they found wasn’t delivering….it wasn’t worth it….it was a temporary pleasure that would result in loss of all things good that they had known.
Fortunately, we went out after them – anxious to restore them into the safety of our home. When we found them was also when they had decided to try to find their way back.
In that intersection, we reunited.
Are you ever tempted to choose the world’s ways over God’s ways?
I pray God will give us the mental, physical and spiritual fortitude to chose Him in all our ways. This message is all over the Bible as an instruction for good living.
Let’s explore:
Deuteronomy 30:19–20 — “I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Therefore, choose life, so that you and your children may live, loving the Lord your God, obeying his voice, and holding fast to him, for he is your life and length of days.”
Psalm 1:1–3 — Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked… that person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season.
Proverbs 14:12 — “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.”
John 10:10 — Jesus says, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life and have it to the full.”
Romans 12:2 — “Do not conform to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”
Do you realize how desperately God wants you to be with Him?
It’s not only for His glory but for our good. He wants us to be with Him out of His great love for us. Under His care is where we are safe and can thrive.
Let’s explore:
Luke 15:4–7 — “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it? 5 And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. 6 And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’ 7 Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.
Luke 15:20 — (The prodigal son) “But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion… he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.”
Ezekiel 34:11–12 — “I myself will search for my sheep and look after them… I will rescue them from all the places where they were scattered.”
2 Corinthians 5:17–18 — “If anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come… All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ.”
Jeremiah 29:11 — “For I know the plans I have for you… plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
I hope my dogs’ escapades will bring you insight for living your best life. We must be on guard and recognize that the “freedom” the world offers is not actually freedom at all.
