The Friendly Sheriff

The local sheriff who bounded down the hill to greet us seemed friendly enough. His sudden presence was somewhat startling, as sudden encounters with sheriffs tend to be. He had broad shoulders, a thick neck and flashing white teeth. His ears and tail perked up when he saw us and I was a little concerned about his intentions. Did I mention he was a Collie/Shepherd mix? He came down to check us out on our evening walk, my two small dogs, a Pekinese, Shih-Tzu and I. “Y’all just out passing through, are you?” He seemed to say. “Well, just mind your p’s and q’s and you’ll be all right here. Y’all be careful now, you hear?” I tipped my hat to the canine sheriff and made my way around the block. As confident as he was, he almost hid the fact that he was lacking his left front leg, gone at the shoulder. He was obviously a well-loved and well cared for dog. He sported a nice collar and looked clean and well groomed. I don’t think he knew he was disabled, and should have been pitied.

He was not only a sheriff, but a teacher, the 3-legged dog. He illustrated a principle found in 2 Timothy 1:7: “For God gave us a spirit not of fear, but of power and love and self-control.” (ESV). God gave us all a spirit of resilience. We don’t hunker down in fear when hardship comes. We face it as the sheriff-collie did, with head held high, ears perked up and eyes bright and alert. Troubles come into our lives like powerful storms. When the storm is over, we step out into the street and in love, look for others to help. In power, we draw on God’s spirit to strengthen our hands to help and rebuild, just as did the Jews in Zechariah 4:6 did. “Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, says the Lord.” Instead of obsessing over what we have lost, we consider the next thing we should do, and form a plan of action.

Piece by piece, brick by brick, we rebuild our shattered lives, with the Master’s guidance. We work together as a community, because that’s what the church does. We work toward recovery and abundant living, as Jesus promised “I have come that they may have life, and have it abundantly.” –John 10:10b. Scripture is often illustrated by nature, such as by 3-legged dogs. Learn from it, and live well