City Dog - Country Dog

Did you ever notice the contrast between a city dog and a country dog? Have you ever had a dog that you kept in the house, or perhaps kept penned in the backyard? What happens when there is a momentary crack in the doorway or fence? He’s out of there like lightning! Give him a glimpse of freedom, and he’s gone. I remember a dog we once had who would be charging up the street as I ran behind him calling his name. Did he stop? No way. He would actually turn and seem to grin at me as he ran away from me. The more I chased him, the faster he ran.

On the other hand, have you ever seen a country dog? There are no fences, but only miles of pasture and forest to run in. He can go wherever and do whatever he wants. Where is he? Right smack on the front porch of the house, sleeping contentedly! He is happy to hang around the house, waiting for his master to come play, or take him hiking or hunting.

People are the same way. They cannot stand to be in bondage. They may remain in captivity if there are enough strong threats, persuasive deceptions, or peer pressure, but if you give them a crack of freedom in this situation they are out of there like a city dog.

That is exactly what Christians who have been kept penned up by legalism often do when they first hear about freedom in Christ. Without a personal understanding of Jesus Christ living in them and the grace and truth found in Him to guide them, they see freedom only as an opportunity to indulge the flesh.

When Christians seem to misuse their newfound freedom, we may look at them as “rebelling against God” without first looking more closely and asking, “What are they really rebelling against?’ Usually people are actually rebelling against the legalistic religion that has kept them in bondage, not against God Himself.

When the city dog is running up the street, is he really running away from his master? No, he’s running away from the FENCE. He normally loves his master. He just hates being penned up.

“Rebellious” Christians tell stories about seeing ugly religion, pressure to conform, and man-made standards. Our response should be, “Good! You should be rebelling against those things! That’s not what Jesus Christ meant when He said He came to give us abundant life.” I find that these “rebels” are some of the most excited, dynamic believers I know once the errors of legalism have been corrected.

But to release someone from the captivity of religious authority, legalism and ritualism without adding something in its place is like letting the city dog out of his pen. He’ll just take off running as fast as he can to get away. God’s method of releasing us is by replacing it with Jesus’ indwelling life. Why does the country dog stay near the front door when he has miles of freedom? Because he knows and loves his master. His freedom is not freedom FROM bondage, but freedom to be WITH the one he loves.

In the same way, as I grow to know and love Jesus Christ living in me more intimately, I find myself experiencing incredible freedom and hardly think about roaming away any more. The issue is not what I CAN or CANNOT do. I am free to know Christ in an unhindered personal relationship. That’s what I concentrate on. Then through that relationship, my mind is taught to think His thoughts. Where I am wrong, He lets me know, He reasons with me. He doesn’t lock me back behind the fence!

Yes, if you teach the freedom that is ours in Christ, there are a certain number of immature people who will try to take advantage of it – for a while. But by falling flat on their face, they will learn how stupid sin really is. However, if we are teaching people how to walk according to the indwelling life of Christ, those will be the exception, not the rule. People are looking for real life, and it is found in the indwelling union with Jesus Christ.

To say that the Christian is not under the law is not to insult the law or say that it is bad – it is to maintain that something better has come! Rather than managing His people by law as in the Old Testament, God now wants His people to grow in grace through the leading of the Holy Spirit telling us who we are in Christ. This is why Galatians 5:18 says, “If you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law.” This means that we Christians have the privilege of living in a loving, trust relationship with the indwelling Jesus. His goal is to grow us in grace as a result of our personal relationship with Him, not to “keep us in line” under the law.

Remember that a child of God is not just a forgiven sinner! Christ has come to live in him, making him alive in Christ. And Christ is committed to renewing our minds according to His truth.

But what about those times when we forget and seem to walk away from Christ? You may think you are walking away from Him, but Jesus never leaves you. After giving his witness to Jesus as the Messiah, John the Baptist remarked, “He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:30). That is a good way to describe what growing in grace is like. Many times when you hear people talk about “growing in spiritual maturity”, you get the impression that they are getting bigger and stronger. But the truth is exactly the opposite. It means that wanting to do our own way by independence rather than dependence is becoming less and less, and He is gaining greater access to our lives. Trials cause us to depend totally on Christ and His sufficiency rather than relying on our own. When we come face to face with our own inadequacy, we are forced to turn to Christ in us for His total adequacy.

Next time you see a “lazy” country dog sleeping on the porch, look on him as leading the “abundant life” of love and contentment with his master. He could take off if he wanted to, but he loves and respects his master too much to do it.

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