King is our black Labrador retriever. He is about a year and a half old.
I just got back from a walk with him and I have to tell you its finally gotten fun. I am able to enjoy our time together more now. I trust him, I don’t have to keep a constant eye on his every move or command him every second of our walk, “come here boy”, stop”, “don’t”, etc.
Now, I tell him what to do and he does it. He sits when I command, stays on command. He’ll go forward on my whistle, stop on my whistle, turn right by my hand directions and come when I whistle him back. It’s really pretty cool. We’ve become the envy of many frantic dog walkers!
It certainly wasn’t always that way. Our time together started rather bleakly. King was one of three “throw away” male labs found by the side of a road in Weatherford, Texas. Some cruel dog owner left him and his brothers in the country to die. They were only a couple of months old. Fortunately some loving person took them in and then advertised their availability on the internet. My son was looking for a Lab in order to have a hunting companion; so we went to take a look, led by our son.
When we first saw the dogs they were gangly, skinny and haggard. We chose the one with the blue collar (there was one with red, one with green) because he seemed the most interested in playing with us, so we brought him home. Actually this dog was for my son, but since he didn’t have a kennel at his house the pup, now known as king began his “second life” at our home. Nevertheless, it was my son’s dog so he was required to pay for everything – the food, license, shots and other necessities to secure the dog’s life.
We were all pretty excited to have this new member of the “family” and looking forward to many happy hours of playing, retrieving and hunting with king. However the next morning we woke up to a problem. King was sick. We soon discovered he had the puppy disease, Parvo. It was a life threatening disease and it was evident that king was dying. We were upset about it, but decided to invest in this orphan dog and seek veterinary help. The cure was costly, and not guaranteed but my son nursed king back to health and within a few days we had our bouncy retriever back; panting with his tongue out, a smile on his face and wanting to chase a ball.
But king was completely undisciplined. He would jump on you, not follow if you walked him or come back if you called him. And if he saw another dog, he was gone – long gone. So I bought a leash. But obedience was only six feet long. Though I used every “reward system” of food and love and affirmation known to pet training, I discovered that my big, self willed dog had his own agenda. There was no way I could train him to walk with me, much less hunt with me, by keeping him on a leash and feeding him biscuits. There was no way to release him or he would be out of sight in seconds!
I was stumped. I shared my situation with some guys I knew who bought fully trained retrievers from real trainers and they shared a technological secret with me – the “shock collar”. This ingenious device could be affixed to the animals thick neck and was “connected” by invisible radio wave to a battery operated hand held cylinder that would send a mild “sting” to king if he wouldn’t mind a voice or whistle command from me, the operator! I was assured by the professionals that it wasn’t harmful or cruel and so I decided to try it out.
An amazing thing occurred; our relationship got better. King and I had been walking, with me trying to train him in basic obedience commands, for about 6 months. He did well within a few feet of me but at 20 yards or so he was smart enough to know he could ignore me without reprisal since I couldn’t run fast enough to catch him and enforce my wishes.
In other words, on a short leash I was the boss – but give him some slack and he took over – mostly for his own enjoyment. Wow it was frustrating to have no control over the animal’s behavior. And without control, king was going to have to stay either on a short leash or in his kennel – and that is no way for a Labrador retriever to live!
Well, within a day we had immediate success with the “invisible remote leash”. Just a little buzz at the right time after executing a command and king got the point – I was the boss and he was to do certain things right – or he’d be back on the short leash.
Suddenly our relationship took on a whole new level of accomplishment and fun. King soon became a pro at executing commands during our training exercises and was making significant progress. King was becoming mature! The only time I had to give him more than a gentle buzz was when he excitedly attacked a mom with a baby in a stroller and didn’t understand that he was not allowed to jump in the stroller with the baby! That was the last time he needed my serious intervention. Now king watches me for directions and permission. And when he goes where I send him and doesn’t hear my whistle he knows he’s free to keep doing what he’s doing, working the field around me, for he is on track with me, his master.
And guess what – duck season started miserably – trying to hold a wet lab and on short leach with a shotgun in the other hand was crazy. But it ended wonderfully with my Lab sitting next to me in the blind looking upward in the sky for the reason we had spent so many hours training – ducks, flying into our decoy spread!
How about you?
Let’s reverse the analogy. How is your walk with “King”? Not the black lab, but The King – the one who rescued you when you were sick with sin. The One who nursed you back to health when you were filled with the disease of an unsanctified human nature; i. e. the way you were living? Remember when you had your own agenda for life – even when you were a new Christian?
How is your walk with God, The King, going today – enjoyable, purposeful, effective, successful? Or does God still have to keep you on a sort leash? Are you finally “trained” to look to Him for directions, and then continue by faith until you sense he wants to redirect your paths (Pr 3:5, 6)?
What about that “invisible remote leash”, do you pay attention when you feel a little buzz in your spirit. Does your conscience awaken you to a misdirection, does the Holy Spirit, who indwells you, have the kind of control that He insists is best for the both of you – God’s will and your abundant life?
Some of us still act like untrained dogs. We do what we want when we want, go where we please, pester others rudely, and ignore our Master as we live by our instincts rather than His purposeful plan for our lives.
What kind of “God’s best friend” are you – trained or untrained?
God desires an intimate walk with us. He redeemed us for a purpose. Certainly God rescued us because He loves us. God also seeks to train us because of His love too. He will not leave us without the discipline of a purposeful life. Otherwise, we’d all be running around, without restraint, chasing whatever “rabbit” of excitement jumped out in front of us.
God loves us too much to leave us in a kennel and He enjoys us to much to leave us directionless. God wants to walk with us, savoring our relationship in Christ, enjoying each day as partners with purpose.
Walking with king reminded me of that truth.
I have to tell you too, that I got a kick out of the ”trinity” involved in king’s “redemption” and training – me, the father, my son who actually went from our home to save the dog and bring him into our family. Plus, there is that invisible control device connecting me and the dog, despite the distance.
The real Trinity, so often forgotten in our daily walk; the Father who loved us, The Son who went and spent Himself to save us (1 John 4:10), and the Holy Spirit who lives within us, connecting us eternally to God and who daily leads and reproves or applauds as we follow his lead (Gal 5:16).
I don’t know about you, but I am now a little more focused on walking with My King, fixing my attention on Him, moving around by His command in order to please him; wagging my tail in delight that the Master loves me and I get to walk with Him in this world, and in the one to come.
God deserves that. And I get to enjoy that, when I appreciatively obey Him. How about you? Consider this;
Hebrews 12:1-13 (New American Standard Bible)
Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
You have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood in your striving against sin; 5and you have forgotten the exhortation which is addressed to you as sons,
"MY SON, DO NOT REGARD LIGHTLY THE DISCIPLINE OF THE LORD, NOR FAINT WHEN YOU ARE REPROVED BY HIM; FOR THOSE WHOM THE LORD LOVES HE DISCIPLINES, AND HE SCOURGES EVERY SON WHOM HE RECEIVES."
It is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline? But if you are without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Furthermore, we had earthly fathers to discipline us, and we respected them; shall we not much rather be subject to the Father of spirits, and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but He disciplines us for our good, so that we may share His holiness.
All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness. Therefore, strengthen the hands that are weak and the knees that are feeble, and make straight paths for your feet, so that the limb which is lame may not be put out of joint, but rather be healed.
Hope you enjoy your walk with The King.
