Training
by Jackie Ricks
We recently got a new puppy, an indoor dog named Copper. He’s the sweetest little dachshund, but he can also be a pain to our much older dog, Bud. I’d forgotten how long it takes to housebreak a puppy. He’s done fairly well, but I’m ready for him to learn that he can go through the doggy door without me and take care of his business outside whenever he needs to. This is also the first time I’ve had two dogs trying to get along, especially one so young and the other so old. They “play” but it often looks and sounds like fighting. I worry that one will get hurt accidentally. I’m constantly calling their names and trying to correct them. It’s frustrating to say and do the same things repeatedly, with them never seeming to catch on to what they should be doing. Then I wonder, “Is this how God sometimes feels about us?”
Whether we are new believers or long-time followers of Christ, we are sure to need correcting on a regular basis. Perhaps we fail to do what Jesus commands us all to do without being constantly reminded or prodded to get up and do it. Maybe it’s simply attending church, or studying the Bible, praying, or possibly witnessing. No matter what it is, how many times does Jesus have to nudge us to get up and do what we’re supposed to do? James 4:17 admonishes, “Therefore, to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.” Many call this the sin of omission because we don’t do what we should do.
Although as believers, sin cannot completely separate us from God once we have accepted Him as our Savior, it does break our fellowship with Him for a period of time. Isaiah 59:2 states, “But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hidden His face from you, that He will not hear.” Just as we would scold a puppy and possibly not hold him or pet him for a little while when he doesn’t behave as expected, God must reprimand us when we don’t do what He has told us in His Word to do. If you’re like me, you don’t like the feeling that someone is upset with you. I know that I want to make things right with others when I have failed or forgotten to do something that I should. So, what about when we fail to do what God expects? Shouldn’t we try to correct that situation as well?
Copper is a lively 2-month-old puppy trying to be housemates with Bud, a sedentary 10-year-old dog. Copper wants to bite or jump on Bud. He’s not doing it to hurt him, but rather to play and have fun. Bud plays along for a while but then he gets upset and turns to “attack” Copper. Then they go round and round. Thankfully, neither is intent on causing harm to the other. However, it’s still aggravating and they quite often refuse to listen and stop when corrected. And even after correction, they repeat the same actions, sometimes just minutes or even seconds later.
Aren’t our sins sometimes like that? We start out mainly trying to enjoy life and then things get a little out of control until we have taken things too far. Remember the song, “Sin Will Take You Farther Than You Want to Go”? God is always right there trying to correct us, but do we listen and obey? If you’re like me, probably not, or at least not after a while when you’ve forgotten that pleasure is not what’s important. Serving God should be our goal, but many times we end up serving the devil instead. That can be called the sin of commission. It’s no worse or better than the sin of omission. Both are sins of disobedience.
Thankfully, God forgives us of our sin when we ask Him. First, He forgives when we ask Him into our heart for salvation. Look at Romans 6:23, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ, our Lord.” But Christ also forgives believers of our daily sin as it tells us in 1 John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
I can’t stay upset with Copper and Bud for long because they are still learning a new situation. Maybe God thinks that about us, too, but I’m afraid some of us are well past the training stage and need to be more heavily reprimanded. I don’t know about you, but I’m surprised that God hasn’t reached His limit already with me. I know if Copper and Bud disobeyed as often and for as many years as I have, I would definitely think it was too much, long before we reached that point. How about you?
SCRIPTURE: Psalm 66:18; Isaiah 59:2; Romans 6:23; James 4:17; 1 John 1:9
PRAYER: Lord, thank You for putting up with me and all my disobedience, especially that of omission. It’s so easy to overlook NOT doing the things I should. Nevertheless, it’s sin. Please help me to do better by reminding me regularly. Thanks. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
RESPONSE: How obedient are you? Are you still in training?
