Tethered to the Master

While out walking my girls recently, a gentleman rode by on the opposite sidewalk with two German Shorthaired Pointers running in perfect sync beside his bicycle.

This was no leisurely ride. They were all moving at a pretty good clip, and everyone—including the dogs—looked perfectly content.

There wasn’t even a brief second when any of them were distracted by me or my two dogs, who immediately started pulling on their leashes so they could either investigate or take down those two big dogs.

Within a few seconds, they were gone and we continued along our merry way.

But I couldn’t help but marvel at what I had just witnessed up close and personal.  I thought about what might happen if I tried that with Maisy and Mimi.

Pretty sure we’d wind up with two seriously injured or deceased dogs with me in the hospital with multiple fractures.  What a way to go…

I do recognize the fact that pointer dogs and my Boston/Frenchie mixes have very different personality types.  There’s virtually no part of my girls’ DNA that might result in this lovely image.

And yet, I also recognize that it wasn’t a quick matter of clipping the dogs’ leashes to the bike and let’s go for a ride – in perfect sync.  I know this didn’t happen overnight.  Training preceded this marvelous feat. 

Just speculation on my part but I imagine the first step was to make sure the dogs were good “walkers” before hooking them up to the bike.  You can’t have either of them pulling, or worse yet, pulling in separate directions or you’d have the disaster I described earlier with me in the hospital.

Perhaps the gentleman then moved on to jogging with the dogs, so they got used to a faster speed, and once that was mastered, he gave them some test runs alongside the bicycle.

That step alone may have taken multiple attempts before they reached the spectacle I witnessed that morning.

The spiritual parallel was impossible to miss.  The pointers with their master.  Each of us with our Master – God.

While the ultimate goal in each situation is complete obedience to the master, I suspect this is a more difficult task for us humans.  Or maybe it’s just me!

Let’s see how they compare:

DOGS

1. Quickly (I assume) they reached the point where they could enjoy this run with their master.
2. Again assuming, he kindly taught them how to run with him, correcting and disciplining as necessary.
3. They, in turn, trusted him completely.
4. They didn’t lag behind or pull ahead.
5. They weren’t distracted by our intrusion into their run.
6. I assume, regardless of the route, they remained in sync with the master.
7. They were clearly in their happy place, on a great run with their master.
8. They were doing what they were created to do.
9. Despite being so well-trained, the risk always remains that they could cause an accident along the way.
10. One last assumption – barring the effects of old age, they likely will enjoy runs like this for most of their lives. Once trained, likely always trained.

Now how about us?  Me?

HUMANS

1. Despite a full lifetime of training, I still don’t have this mastered.
2. This one lines up.  God kindly and oh-so patiently trains us to walk or run with him, using correction and discipline as necessary.
3. Even knowing God’s goodness and sovereignty, I might say I trust him completely, but my actions often don’t reflect that.  I regularly question the direction he wants to take me.
4. I think in this case, I’d be just like Maisy and Mimi.  Lagging behind when I didn’t want to go where God was taking me.  Pulling ahead when I couldn’t understand what was holding him up.
5. I’ve clearly mastered the “Squirrel!” game.  I’m constantly distracted by the things of this world – the things Satan wants me to focus on instead of keeping my eyes fixed on Jesus.
6. I might be a decent follower if it’s on a path of my choosing.  Or one that seems quite pleasant to me.  But what happens when God takes me down a scary road?  I often fail miserably.
7. Sometimes I can clearly see how God’s path for me is for my good, and can even revel in the beauty and pleasure of it.  But far too many times, I’m more likely to complain about where God is taking me.
8. If I stay tethered to God as closely as these pointers did to their master, I believe I would eventually discover that staying tethered to God is exactly what I was created to do and to be.
9. Regardless of how I might attempt to pull God off the intended path (as if that were even possible), I know he is secure in the direction he takes me.  No pending accidents!
10. I’d love to say that once I tasted the beauty of staying in sync with God, I’d never desire anything else, but I know my heart is prone to wander! This sanctification process of teaching me to trust God completely, and joyfully remain in sync, in his will, at all times will be ongoing until this earthly life is over.

Despite our tendencies to stray and complain and run after those worldly “squirrels,” we know God never gives up on us.  He never tires of training us or showing us that walking or running in sync with him will always be the best route we can take.

May we all strive to stay tethered to the Master, not simply because he’s training us to do so, but because we love him and want to demonstrate that love by staying in lockstep with him.  May it always be our happy place.

You make known to me the path of life;

in your presence there is fullness of joy;

at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

Psalm 16:11