The Case of the Missing Leash

I was asked to contribute a story for a friend’s book, Bible Lessons From Our Pets (which you can pre-order on amazon.com). Here’s my story…

When I was a kid, I bought a puppy—a little white and orange Brittney Spaniel. I named her “Gretchen.”

Brittney Spaniels are bird dogs. They are bred to hunt.

I wasn’t a hunter, but she was. She loved to run. She “pointed” when birds flew by. She chased any animal that was smaller than her. She dug into mole hills, caught and ate moles (truly disgusting to watch).

Gretchen tried to tolerate the leash but she loved to be free. I would often find her running around chasing various wildlife in the horse pasture behind our house.

Jesus Christ purchased our freedom. He has given us a new nature: one that loves to walk in freedom.

John 8:36 says, “So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free.”

2 Corinthians 3:17 reminds us, “Wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.”

We have a new nature—one that has been recreated in the likeness of Jesus Christ.

This new nature is free. Free from condemnation. Free from the past. Free from destructive habits that chain and contain us. Free to be joyful. Free to live and enjoy this life that God has given us!

We have been unleashed.

In other words, if you are a Christian, it’s your nature to be free just like it was Gretchen’s nature to chase birds.

Unfortunately, we sometimes get chained up, hindered, or put back on a leash. We allow hurts, regrets, old habits, fears, insecurities, greed, selfishness, and other negative forces to attach like a choke-collar around our necks.

I remember a time when we couldn’t find Gretchen’s six-foot long leather leash. It was a rather expensive leash—one that the dog obedience school had recommended. Everyone in my family got blamed for misplacing it. No one confessed, and it was still missing.

A few days later, evidence appeared—proving that Gretchen was the culprit in the case of the missing leash. She had eaten it. The leash didn’t digest well… so there were many little chunks of leather in Gretchen’s dog piles around our lawn.

Gretchen showed us what she thought of the leash we used to hold her back. She chewed it up and expelled it. She left it in piles around the yard.

Jesus paid a high price for our freedom.

We are meant to be free.

Don’t go digging through piles of poo looking for a leash that has already been destroyed.

“So Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don’t get tied up again…” (Galatians 5.1 NLT)