When I’ve written the first part I thought that was it, what was there more to say? Yesterday I hardly started my day, though, when the Holy Spirit began to give me part two. Please first read part one. Using a dog as an analogy makes it easy to remember what the Lord taught us, since seeing the dog on a daily basis reminds us.
Why does a dog love his master so much? Inherently a dog is a pack animal and has an inborn desire to please a pack leader or be a pack leader. He loves because his master loved him first. If a dog is loved, trained and disciplined he will submit to his master, the pack leader, and act as described in the first part of this series. If he is however left on his own, he will be selfish, naughty, and destructive and will consider himself in charge.
“We love because He first loved us,” (1 John 4:19). If we’re born again and have experienced the Lord’s amazing love, we’ll desire to please him and love Him back. When the sinful woman anointed Jesus with the perfume, He said to Simon in Luke 7:47: “Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven - for she loved much. But he, who is forgiven little, loves little.” She used to live a life of sin, which Jesus had forgiven, and her response was to pour out her love on Him. He, who has been forgiven much, will love much and he who has been forgiven little, loves little. If we are self-sufficient and self-righteous, proudly justifying our actions and attitudes, we are like Simon who invited Jesus in Luke 7:36-50 to impress Him, but if we have been in the pit of sin and have been rescued by Jesus’ amazing grace, love towards Him pours automatically from our hearts. We’ll hold onto Him, for we know where we came from and would not like to go back. Years ago a pastor had to tell a self-righteous church member to go and steal a sheep so he can realise he’s a sinner.
Because I fulfil all my dog’s needs, he is able to pour out on me all the love he has. The problem with us is that the Lord does fulfil all our needs, but our flesh and the influence of Mammon and the world creates in our hearts desires that the Lord does not want to fulfil. He wants us to be free from hindrances so we can be effective witnesses and build His Kingdom. “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith,” (Hebrews 12:1, 2). If we, however, are stubborn to have the desires that our flesh and the world offer us, we turn to Mammon to get it and this diminishes our love for the Lord. A dog’s needs are simple to meet and therefore it is easy for him to serve his master. How about us?
When a dog is trained and disciplined it is easy for him to obey me and follow my desires. An obedient dog is a pleasure to have, but an unruly one an annoyance. Have we allowed the Lord to train and discipline us? Are we a pleasure to Him or a spoilt brat – an annoyance? Even though I had my anointing, the Lord had to go to much trouble to get rid of my rough edges so I could become useful to Him.
How about you?
Lord, take me and make me pleasing in your sight.
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