Category: Stories

For the Whole Earth is the Lord’s and Everything that is in it. ( Psalm 24:1, Psalm 50:12, 1 Corinthians 10:26)

                                      

Trance is a dog.  In Genesis , I see God designed the first dog.  The first of Trance’s kind, God made out of the ground. (Genesis 2:19). That was a long time ago. . . that was the beginning of time.  In the beginning of time God created All things for HIS GLORY. 

Nowadays, in these times, no one much says “made for His glory”. It is far removed from our texts and tweets and tags and toungue . So, now today, when I talk about Trance, folks say “He is just a dog”.

Sometimes, lots of times, I have used the same identification  of another’s dog. “Geeze, it’s just a dog”, I whine when they express affections toward their dog.

Words suddenly put on an honor however when folks start showing pictures of their dogs. Suddenly, Our vocabulary dresses up with compliments when we see the dog.  We say”ah, how cute, what an adorable face, wow what  a pooch, ” We say lots of great words avoiding the few true words which resound from heaven  ” that’s a creature of God’s glory”

Since Adam named the animals, God has given us freedom to name all things. Like the first day in the garden , “Trance” was named by his owners the first day they met him. Squatting in the Denver gravel floor of a shelter pen,  My daughter and son-in-law had great dreams for their “dog” as they gave him his name. Their dog would go whereever the “Trance” Giant Bicycle could go. Surely, Names are from God for us to give but, the purpose of all things belongs to God.

              Obedience Believes

When Trance was first “adopted” , he stood eager before his new mother and father.  His eyes would fix on their face. Any twitch, any movement , he would follow. He did not flinch when kennel keepers moved around him . He was on mission.

His new owners said “I think he will be easy to train”, Trance watched them look at one another in agreement without blinking. He was a picture of obedience.

Obedience is a listening, a looking , a following a voice.  Trance had the look of obedience. His ears erect, His eyes fixed , his feet ready to follow a command.  When I saw him look at his parents, I thought how I was created to look at my Father in heaven. My ears erect for the Holy spirit, My eyes fixed on the face of Jesus, and my feet ready to follow the command of my Father.

My stance , my posture before my Maker was not like Trance.

I said his name , “Trance”. He quickly glanced at me and turned back to his new parents. It was as if he was preaching “Do you not know (old woman) that if you continually surrender yourself to (just) anyone to do their will, you are a slave to those who you obey, whether that be to Sin, which will ruin you or to obedience which leads to righteousness and LIFE?” Romans 6:16 AMP

It was as if Trance was barking. “Im not listening to you or to other dogs or to  that kennel guard, I’m listening to the one who can set me free!!”

Obedience Retrieves

                              

“He only likes to do one thing” my daughter would say. “he never quits, we have to make him lie down”.

Trance’s father threw the first ball for him.  It was a yellow tennis ball. It was held in his masters hand high above Trance.  Trance bent both neck and hip to look to the height of the ball.  The ball was the mission yet to be executed.  Trance knew if he did not look at his masters hand and the angle , time and velocity of the execution of the ball , he might not serve his master rightly with retrieval.  Trance is a skilled retriever.

The first ball was tossed but a few feet.  Subsequent balls were thrown farther and farther.  In parking lots and prarries, across fields and woods,up mountains , down valleys, over puddles , into streams, on fences and rails and up into trees, Trance completes mission upon mission.  And if , on occassion, a ball is lost, a mission failed, he returns ready for another chance.

From Denver, to Ashville, to my own backyard, Trance has taught me . How many times had I looked up in worship to hear a call , an assignment in the hand of my Lord for me, and not gone after it.  And yet, when I had gone and returned, what joy and readiness I had for yet another assignment.  But then, there were the times I had gone and it all seemed lost. What of these failures to please my master?. Was not Trance exhorting me , return, return, there is yet another one where that came from.

Was he not quoting Paul who ran with every command to “go” from the Lord? “Old woman , I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do : forgetting what lies behind (in the woods or stream) I strain forward to what lies ahead and so should you old woman press on tward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Phillipians 3:12-13)

Obedience Lies Down

“So you have to make him lie down?” I asked my daughter

“yep, pretty much.  Sometimes I fall asleep throwing the ball first”

Trance relentless pusuit to please his master haunted me.  I often thought of missionaries and martyrs when I thought of Trance. Their focus to the mission yet their forgetfulness to the things of the world, like sleep and food  ,humbled me. It seemed to be the ultimate fullfillment of God’s call for our obedience to Him.  It seemed to be a beautiful picture of a life lived for His glory.

One day Trance was given a different mission . He was not to run , not to chase, not to retrieve.  He was to carry on his neck the wedding rings of his parents.  He was their “ring bearer”.  It was an unfamiliar mission, but like an obedient servant he listened, he “heeled”, he approached the outdoor altar to present the rings.  Children were thrilled, adults laughed, the parents were proud.  The Father of all Creation rejoiced. Trance was part of a picture of Jesus and His church.

Three months later, yesterday afternoon, Trance looked at his Master, he was ready to obey yet again but there was a delay, a turn, there was a car.  In moments Trance lay in my daughters arms lifeless.  ” I held him but I could look and see he was going . . .” He was going to where there is no more need for obedience. He was going to lie down.

And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying:

To Him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!” Revelation 5:13

Amen and Thank you God for Trance and all that was given to us through him!!