Tuesday, April 13, 2004
Tuesday, April 13, 2004
Who is it that conquers the world but the one who believes that Jesus is the Son
of God?
(1 John 5.5
NRSV)
How do we achieve it? We achieve it by committing ourselves without reservation to His service. Let me use what I believe is an exciting analogy. It is from Jack London's masterpiece, THE CALL OF THE WILD.
It is the story of a magnificent dog named Buck. Buck was half St. Bernard, half Shepherd. He was 150 lbs. of pure muscle. Because he was such an impressive animal, he was stolen, kidnaped, off the streets of San Francisco and transported to Alaska where there was a tremendous need for powerful dogs to pull sleds through the wilderness snow. So cruelly was Buck treated by his kidnappers and then by his first owners that he was nearly broken in spirit by the time he fell into the kindly hands of John Thornton. Thornton was so humane in his treatment of Buck that Buck developed an undying loyalty to Thornton. Thornton wasn't perfect, however.
One evening during a conversation in the Eldorado saloon, Thornton was lured into making a $1,000 wager that Buck could break a thousand pound load from a frozen standstill and move it 100 yards. Some dogs had been known to break 500 lb. loads, maybe even 600 lb., but 1,000 lbs. seemed impossible. It was a foolish wager, but Thornton believed that if any dog could do it, Buck could. Thornton didn't even have a thousand dollars. He had to borrow it from a friend.
Men spilled out of the saloon to see if Buck could possibly perform this feat. A sled holding twenty 50 lb bags of flour was standing frozen in the snow. The ten dog team that had been pulling it was released and Buck was harnessed in their place.
John Thornton put his face against the face of his great dog. This time he did not playfully shake him as was his normal custom. Instead he knelt down by Buck's side and whispered in his ear these unforgettable words, "As you love me, Buck, as you love me..." Then he stepped back and allowed Buck to do the rest. And of course Buck did. "As you love me, Buck, as you love me...."
You and I face a task that the world says is impossible, the claiming of this world for Jesus Christ. All we have to go on is a voice in our ear, "As you love me. As you love me."
God of peace, may I do my part in claiming this world for you. Amen.
