Years ago after first becoming a Christian, we were visiting my in-laws in West Virginia. I had also heard that a Church in Yukon, a small community in McDowell County, WV was having a revival service. I decided that I would check it out, so I went while my wife visited with her family.
This Church was in a hollow, or as they say there, "up a holler," so I had to drive past quite a few houses up a narrow street that winds up into the mountain, and to do so slowly as there were often people on ATVs and dirt bikes riding. Also there may be children playing, cars parked out in the road, and any number of obstacles to watch out for.
The people in this particular hollow were like many in southern West Virginia, most were living in poverty, some were addicted to drugs, but also most of them were good-hearted people. There were a few Churches that served as beacons of light in this community, and one of them was the one I was visiting.
After a great revival service that night, I left the Church feeling uplifted, and began driving back out of the hollow. It was getting darker and there was a lot of activity. People were walking around and ATVs were buzzing past me. All of a sudden there were 3 dogs playing in the middle of the street and one of them ran right up under the front of my car. The car rolled the poor dog under it and out the back, and I heard and felt several thumps before I came to a stop. I got out of the car to see this poor dog laying in the street behind my car. It was dead.
I suddenly heard someone yell out to a woman a few houses down saying, "Hey, this fella kilt yer dog!" The woman came down the street and began crying out with a loud wail. I felt really bad that it had happened, but also a little uneasy as there was suddenly a small crowd beginning to form. The woman began yelling profanities, but they were not directed at me... I don't think... and at least not yet. I apologized to her and explained that the dog just ran right up under the car before I could stop.
A pick up truck pulled up beside my car and a man got out. He reached into the back of his truck and grabbed a shovel, then walked over toward the dog. He scraped the shovel under the dead dog, and promptly tossed it into the back of his truck. At this the woman began crying louder. I sensed it may be my time to leave, so I got into my car and did so.
As I drove off I asked God, Why it was that I could leave a great Church service feeling uplifted and then have something so bad immediately happen. I thought about how the woman looked at me with such anger, and how she cried for the dog. She must have loved that dog a lot.
It was then that I felt the Lord softly spoke to me, for from out of nowhere it was impressed to me, "She didn't love that dog." As I thought about this I began to realize that if she did truly love that dog, then she would have protected it with a chain, or a fence. I've had cats and dogs over the years and I have loved them.
Our beagle Max died when we lived in North Carolina. We drove him to an Animal ER and they treated him. To this day I'm not sure whether he was poisoned by someone, or what happened, but when the Veterinarian asked me about giving Max a blood transfusion, I gave the go ahead with no hesitation, for he was like family to us. This ran up to a $500 Vet bill, but we didn't care, for we loved him. At around 5:AM the next morning he had finally passed away.
Today, our dog Shadow plays in our back yard. We have tried to let him run free, but he goes straight to the road. We have had to keep him on a chain because of this. Shadow is part Chihuahua and part whatever else, but his temperament is unmistakably 100% Chihuahua. At night, we bring him into the house and place him into his pet carrier. He will nudge his blanket around until he is completely covered, then he sleeps feeling safe and secure.
It is my wishes that Shadow could run all over the yard and have complete freedom, however each time we have allowed him to go loose he would run straight to the road. Because we love Shadow, we give him the boundaries of a chain when he is outside playing.
The same is true with God's word. When the concepts of the bible are applied to our life, then it also serves as a protective boundary around us. Just we are His sheep in His pasture, His word is the fence that protects us from wandering away from Him, our Good Shepherd.
We may not always like the fence surrounding us, but each time we find a way to get beyond it, then it seems as always, the wolves are waiting there for us somewhere. Just as I felt uneasy in that hollow after feeling safe in the House of God, I am safer within His pasture than I am over the fence.
God puts boundaries up to protect His children. We also do the same thing with our own children. We don't let them do just whatever they wish whenever they want to, for if they are restricted, then they will get hurt. Sometimes too, when they insist on having their way it is important to let them suffer the consequences on their own. I remember once reading about how Indians would teach their children not to get too close to the fire. They would just allow them to get burned on their own, and from there on the child would stay away from the fire. God also lets us have our own way sometimes just so we will get burned and learn.
This Church was in a hollow, or as they say there, "up a holler," so I had to drive past quite a few houses up a narrow street that winds up into the mountain, and to do so slowly as there were often people on ATVs and dirt bikes riding. Also there may be children playing, cars parked out in the road, and any number of obstacles to watch out for.
The people in this particular hollow were like many in southern West Virginia, most were living in poverty, some were addicted to drugs, but also most of them were good-hearted people. There were a few Churches that served as beacons of light in this community, and one of them was the one I was visiting.
After a great revival service that night, I left the Church feeling uplifted, and began driving back out of the hollow. It was getting darker and there was a lot of activity. People were walking around and ATVs were buzzing past me. All of a sudden there were 3 dogs playing in the middle of the street and one of them ran right up under the front of my car. The car rolled the poor dog under it and out the back, and I heard and felt several thumps before I came to a stop. I got out of the car to see this poor dog laying in the street behind my car. It was dead.
I suddenly heard someone yell out to a woman a few houses down saying, "Hey, this fella kilt yer dog!" The woman came down the street and began crying out with a loud wail. I felt really bad that it had happened, but also a little uneasy as there was suddenly a small crowd beginning to form. The woman began yelling profanities, but they were not directed at me... I don't think... and at least not yet. I apologized to her and explained that the dog just ran right up under the car before I could stop.
A pick up truck pulled up beside my car and a man got out. He reached into the back of his truck and grabbed a shovel, then walked over toward the dog. He scraped the shovel under the dead dog, and promptly tossed it into the back of his truck. At this the woman began crying louder. I sensed it may be my time to leave, so I got into my car and did so.
As I drove off I asked God, Why it was that I could leave a great Church service feeling uplifted and then have something so bad immediately happen. I thought about how the woman looked at me with such anger, and how she cried for the dog. She must have loved that dog a lot.
It was then that I felt the Lord softly spoke to me, for from out of nowhere it was impressed to me, "She didn't love that dog." As I thought about this I began to realize that if she did truly love that dog, then she would have protected it with a chain, or a fence. I've had cats and dogs over the years and I have loved them.
Our beagle Max died when we lived in North Carolina. We drove him to an Animal ER and they treated him. To this day I'm not sure whether he was poisoned by someone, or what happened, but when the Veterinarian asked me about giving Max a blood transfusion, I gave the go ahead with no hesitation, for he was like family to us. This ran up to a $500 Vet bill, but we didn't care, for we loved him. At around 5:AM the next morning he had finally passed away.
Today, our dog Shadow plays in our back yard. We have tried to let him run free, but he goes straight to the road. We have had to keep him on a chain because of this. Shadow is part Chihuahua and part whatever else, but his temperament is unmistakably 100% Chihuahua. At night, we bring him into the house and place him into his pet carrier. He will nudge his blanket around until he is completely covered, then he sleeps feeling safe and secure.
It is my wishes that Shadow could run all over the yard and have complete freedom, however each time we have allowed him to go loose he would run straight to the road. Because we love Shadow, we give him the boundaries of a chain when he is outside playing.
The same is true with God's word. When the concepts of the bible are applied to our life, then it also serves as a protective boundary around us. Just we are His sheep in His pasture, His word is the fence that protects us from wandering away from Him, our Good Shepherd.
We may not always like the fence surrounding us, but each time we find a way to get beyond it, then it seems as always, the wolves are waiting there for us somewhere. Just as I felt uneasy in that hollow after feeling safe in the House of God, I am safer within His pasture than I am over the fence.
God puts boundaries up to protect His children. We also do the same thing with our own children. We don't let them do just whatever they wish whenever they want to, for if they are restricted, then they will get hurt. Sometimes too, when they insist on having their way it is important to let them suffer the consequences on their own. I remember once reading about how Indians would teach their children not to get too close to the fire. They would just allow them to get burned on their own, and from there on the child would stay away from the fire. God also lets us have our own way sometimes just so we will get burned and learn.
For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives. - Hebrews 12:6
