Harley the Jack Russell Terrorist is back. It brings back memories of the first time he joined our home about seven years ago. He was a really cute little fun pup that everyone fell in love with, everyone but Chubby the cat. It wasn't too long after the dog's arrival that the cat decided to take matters into his own paw. He was much bigger than Harley then and on day, he simply reached out, claws fully extended, and raked the dog across the eyes. Pretty dirty fighting since all the puppy wanted to do was play. Anyway, it ushered a trip to to the vet, a couple of eye medicine prescriptions to keep him from going blind, and two weeks of treatments. In the meantime, Chubby'd gotten his point (literally) across.
From that moment on, the two developed a love/hate relationship that eventually saw the dog get taller, faster, smarter, and ornerier than the cat. The result was Chubby's surrender to Harley's tyranny. (See late May blog for that story.) Then Harley left; the Cat was saved into freedom, and his life went back to ease, comfort, and weight gain.
Well, an amazing thing happened when our daughter decided it was no longer in her best interest, nor that of the pooch, to keep said pooch in Springfield any longer. (If truth be told, we were missing the noise and chaos, as well as the loyal companionship of the little mutt.) So, while on vacation, we swung through and rescued Harley from a situation in which he couldn't figure out who he could dominate. You see, a natural Tyrant is always looking for someone to control or else he becomes the most miserable of all creations. Anyway, Harley is back. The following really becomes a great allegory of backsliding from freedom into slavery.
The moment Harley and Chubby saw one another, upon our return, the former nose nuzzle became a nearly full bodied hug...couldn't believe it lasted for nearly an entire minute. The kissed and smooched so much it was.....unnatural! Afterward, each went their own way; Chubby to the dinner bowl that had been empty for 10 days, and Harley to the back yard to dominate some encroaching bunnies. (That was his former line of employment...keep the yard clear of bunnies and pesky squirrels.) When Harley entered the house the next time, smooching and hugging was over. Immediately, Chubby was re-relegated to a limited existence of being at his food dish, on one particular chair, or two kitchen rugs. Nowhere else!!! The 9:00p.m. move the kitty out the door routine began again in earnest the very next day, and we are suddenly back to chaos in the home. (I am actually quite comfortable with it all, but that is not the point of this meandering musing.)
The point is this: what was once a great taste of freedom for the cat was surrendered way too easily. I mean, the cat could have put up a bigger resistance to the tyranny. He still has claws. His weight is greater than that of the tyrant-king, he can climb to any high spot he needs. So why did he give up his freedom so quickly? Because tyranny was his way of life for so long that he was literally comfortable being a slave to the king. The only solution available to him, the solution that would have kept him in freedom, was to pack his little bag and leave! But he refused. He stayed. It was good food, good rug, and familiar.
That last one is the key to leaving sin. Sin is way to familiar to us, even though the Lord has purchased our freedom for us. To maintain the new freedom we have been given, we must lose the familiarity with the tyrant called sin. You see, Chubby had a taste of real life, but he chose to go back to the way it was. Listen to this passage of scripture from Hebrews 6:4-6; "It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age, if they fall away, to be brought back to repentance, because to their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace." Wow! Here is a picture of people who have tasted the freedom of salvation, folks who have known the deliverance from the bondage of sin that Jesus offers, who couldn't stay away from the familiar and returned to slavery.
Taking Chubby's failure into account, I believe that the follower of Christ must continually hold to freedom by developing a new familiarity with the Master...the true King...the Creator...the Redeemer...the Lover of our souls, and put up a fight against the old. The Star Trek saying; "Resistance is Futile" does not apply. Resistance to the return of the sin-tyrant is imperative. Resist the old familiarity with death. Become supremely familiar with life. Then, stay there! God will always, I repeat ALWAYS honor your determination to follow hard after him. When we draw close to him, he draws close to us. Go for it!!!
Pastor Jim
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