canine christianity

A discussion of freewill through analogy to two classes of animals

“Be not like horse or mule, without understanding, which must be curbed by a bit or bridle, or it will not stay near you.” 

(Psalm 32:9) 

Who are we without God?  This passage describes us – we run from good.  That means we are sinners.  It doesn’t end, “or it may not stay near you.”  There is no question that, if unleashed, we will not choose to continue to serve.  I once heard John Piper call this a “moral inability,” similar to when we say we “can’t get out of bed in the morning;” sure, we may have the technical ability to do so, but ten out of ten times, we won’t.   If you let a workhorse out of its yoke, it will not continue to work of its own volition.  Similarly, our will is not free; we will choose the selfish path every time.  Sure, we can disobey God’s commands; in fact, that’s all we can do without his help and provision. 

So how does he help?  God’s initial response was to give us the law as a bit or bridle.  We – as shown in the type of the first Adam – were essentially supposed to run this beautiful estate he had created.  We messed up, and became the workhorses of the estate, and eventually slaves of another kingdom (Egypt).   To teach and enable us to be of use again on his estate, he gave us the Mosaic law.  We broke bit and bridle, and jumped the fence. 

God’s second response was to change our identity.  He reset our role through a second Adam (Jesus) who instead of merely serving on the estate was in fact a son.  Through him, we too became part of the household.  Instead of workhorses, we’re more like dogs – part of the family.  This comparison of Christianity to canines can show us several things:

(1) Our will is still not free.  If you let a dog off its leash or out of the yard, it will run away or wander off, guaranteed.

(2) We are driven by God’s grace rather than his punishment.  Even when dogs wander off, they tend to return eventually for meals.  God softens our hearts through love and grace rather than the force of the bit and bridle.  God has cultivated dependence in his people based on grace. 

(3) We don’t have to perform to merit his love.  Because this is an identity change, our lifestyle is an outflow rather than a prerequisite.  As my friend Sean Brown puts it, “A dog barks because he is a dog, not to prove he is a dog.”  (He may have stolen this, but I wouldn’t know where from, so he gets the credit for now)

Our goal is to not need the bit-n-bridle of the law because it has become our nature; instead of answering to the family’s standard, we have been adopted into the family. 

"how this grace thing works"

"Darkness is a harsh term don’t you think?  

And yet it dominates the things I see 

It seems that all my bridges have been burned 

But you say that’s exactly how this grace thing works 

It’s not the long walk home that will change this heart 

But the welcome I receive with the restart"

~ Mumford & Sons, "Roll Away Your Stone" ~

HT: "Here are a few extra"

Admit everything.  Martin Luther's version of spiritual warfare that I've heard Ray quote several times.  Taken from Ray Orland's blog (31 July):

"When I go to bed, the devil is always waiting for me.  When he begins to plague me, I give him this answer: ‘Devil, I must sleep.  That’s God’s command — work by day, sleep by night.  So go away.’  If that doesn’t work and he brings out a catalog of sins, I say, ‘Yes, old fellow, I know all about it.  And I know some more you have overlooked.  Here are a few extra.  Put them down.’  If he still won’t quit and presses me hard and accuses me as a sinner, I scorn him and say, ‘St. Satan, pray for me.  Of course, you have never done anything wrong in your life.  You alone are holy.  Go to God and get grace for yourself.  If you want to get me all straightened out, I say, Physician, heal thyself.’”
Martin Luther, quoted in Roland Bainton, Here I Stand (New York, 1950), page 362.

Christmas in July

a day late - well, really a week late - but still worth the thought...
... after all, incarnation is not merely something that happened once a few thousand years ago, and we shouldn't think about it just once a year.

"[the Incarnation] is so particular it staggers the imagination.  God found a specific place and time where His love would touch our world.  Prayer too is a moment of incarnation - God with us, God involved in the details of my life."
~ Paul Miller, A Praying Life, p. 125