Devotionals

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The dog on a chain-


I recently heard a sermon about a dog being tied up to a tree, and how it could represent a man being chained to, and oftentimes even strangled by sin. It was an inspiring sermon.


Never wanting a good metaphor to go to waste, I'll grab upon that metaphor and expound even more upon that idea.


In this metaphor, or analogy, I would say that the tree that the dog that is constantly being tangled up in, and is never- endingly battling, is a great metaphor for man's sin.
We can run around and around this tree, never minding much what the chain is doing. (I will address the chain and what it represents in a moment). Or, we can even pretend the tree (sin) isn't there. (A lot of good that does us.) But this tree of sin is what actually stands there holding us back from where it is that we want to be. That tree, always growing and getting bigger, seems a "natural" seeming part of our world that constantly reminds us that it keeps us out of the Master's House. And us, being limited minded, "dog-brains", we often unwittingly get tangled up, and helplessly trapped up against this tree.


The chain that the dog (man) always gets tied up by, or entangled in, much to his own pain or self inflicted torture, actually is a great representation of Truth. Truth is the reality that all of us find ourselves chained to; No matter how hard we fight it, or how much we might hate this truth of our existence, and what limits us as humans tied to this tree of sin. We might even come to despise the Master who holds us chained to This Truth. But the Reality, or the Truth, when we don't pay close attention to where it leads us, often times entangles us and can even strangle us. This chain is also the physical laws of the Universe. (But I'll refrain from opening that can of dogfood. Lol) This chain is the reality of the world that God put us into as our Creator/Master. We can wish that this protective chain of truth and reality would set us free. (Freedom seems to be placed into our hearts) We can also even attempt to sever this refraining truth from ourselves, and run like an escaped, wild animal out onto the street, to get hit by an oncoming truck. Or we could run away from reality, never to return to our Master, and be lost forever. Lost out in the "dark woods", that are filled with even more trees. Or we might find our way to a false master... One who may have even, gladly released us off of the protective chain.
But, all of this, "Off-the-chain", behavior results in such a way, that we never collect our REAL Creator/Master's much desired and created rewards for us.


But, what part in the metaphor could a, "dog run", or otherwise called a "pulleyed dog trolley", play in all of this? A "system" of connecting the chain of Reality/Truth, from that cursed tree, to the Master's House. A "way", that allows us to run more freely, yet still attached to our protective, Master-provided reality. A way for us to freely, "run," without being strangled or tangled in with that tree (the sin).


This "Way" still protects us , and we are guided by a guiding system that even allows us a way to get to the Master's door, when He is ready to take us into His house for His next Glorious purpose. And His guiding Word even tells us that He loves it when we stand at the door and bark and whine.


Of course, Jesus calls Himself, "The Way."


I am the way the Truth and the life. No one gets to the Father's House except through ME. (The, "dog run", the Word, the guiding system, the Savior, that frees us from the tree/sin.)


Maybe , I'll never look at a barking, chained up dog in the same way again. PTL.

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