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Scripture

“Anyone who isn’t with me opposes me, and anyone who isn’t working with me is actually working against me.” Matthew 12:30

Observation

What Christian would want to be known as someone who works against Jesus?
Who would want to be known as someone who stands in the way?
Who would want to be responsible for uprooting what Jesus has planted?
Worst of all, would want to be someone who picks a fight with the Lord?

Who would do such a thing? The answer is anyone who forgets the word “with”. It is just a four letter preposition, but living with the word “with” makes all the difference. There is a subtle temptation to go on our own, even if we have followed Christ for some time. Perhaps a prayer is answered and we say, “Thanks for the help, I’ll take over from here.” Maybe we hear the voice of the Shepherd calling and we answer “just a minute.” The degree of separation is slight but substantial, for just a few degrees of separation now can mean hundreds of miles of distance on the future flight path.

Leslie and I walk two German Shorthaired Pointers at night. Lucy is seasoned with age and knows to heel without being told. Jose, however, beats with a puppy’s heart. The world is so interesting and she soon forgets the master’s voice. Normally, Lucy walks on the left and Jose on the right with Leslie and I in the middle. But I experimented the other day by putting the dogs in the middle and Leslie and I on the outside. The measured stride of the old dog Lucy settled the rambunctious young dog Jose. Something of one rubbed off on the other.

I find one of the best ways to remember to keep close to Jesus is to journey with those who have learned to lean well on the Lord. There is a scampering puppy inside of me; I like the old dogs that keep me close to Jesus. There is something about their spirit, that without spoken word, seems to say, “Stay close.”

Every Thursday I receive a phone call from my old friend Larry. Larry is a Berle Ives lookalike, with a cheerful laugh and a warming smile that reaches right into the core of his being. The cadence of his voice, even more than the words that he speaks, set a pace for me in his phone calls that keep me close to Jesus. I hope, one day, to become an old dog myself who steadies others on their journey.

I think Lucy knows the secret of walking with Jesus, but she’s not telling. It’s something about seeing my life as an extension of the Master’s walk, for though Lucy never looks up, I somehow sense she is with me heart and soul as we walk along the road. She is not distracted by birds or passing dogs. She’s with the master and that is enough.

Application
It was James Thurber who wrote about the dog who walked his master. There are so many times I am calling to Jesus and asking him to follow me instead of waiting to follow him. My journey is really the Lord’s journey; if I am to be with him I need to let him walk through me.

Prayer
Jesus, keep me close. Amen.