On Dog Collars and Yokes, Part 2

At my YMCA a wall poster advertises a local humane organization. The poster shows a beautiful collie mix saying, “I don’t know why my owner won’t leave the house with me without a leash. But that’s OK. I don’t mind showing her around.”

I discovered the importance of a leash while walking my dog Lily. Two neighborhood dogs attacked her. I used the leash to pull Lily to me until I could scoop her into my arms and rush her to the vet. Very scary!

The leash, of course, was attached to Lily’s dog collar. What if she had not been leashed? In my last post, I talked about comparing a collar to the yoke that Jesus described in Matthew 11:29-30: “Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

Jesus’ listeners would have been quite familiar with the purpose for yoking oxen: to enable them to pull together at the same speed in the same direction. If we live in such a way that Jesus is the “driver” and we are the oxen, we can be assured that we will go in the direction He desires, at the speed He desires, in cooperation (and not competition) with other believers. How freeing to know we are not alone, forging ahead without direction or purpose! Those fellow believers beside me are friends, not foes, helping me get to my destination.

Jesus describes His purpose in yoking us: to learn from Him. In a similar way, my “yoked” dogs learn the path around our neighborhood—which patches of grass they may walk on (or poop and pee) and which they cannot, which persons approaching them will want to stop for a friendly greeting and others who will not. If they hear a loud noise, they look to me to see if they should high-tail it for home. We learn from Jesus by observing His ways and hearing His voice through prayers, sermons, Bible studies, and Christian fellowship.

Note that in this analogy Jesus is behind the oxen rather than in front of them. He leads from behind, yet they can tell from his pulling which direction to go. That reminds me that we walk by faith, taking steps into the unknown (see the post “Leading from Behind,” 3/20/13). The essence of discipleship is listening to the Master’s voice, “This is the way, walk in it” (Isa. 30:21).

On Dog Collars and Yokes

Monday night was spa night at the Hasslers. Granted, “the girls” (Lily, 3, and Coco, 1) don’t like spa night, but I try to make it as pleasant as cleaning and trimming ears can be for two malti-poos. Often, they run to Dad, as though he’s not involved in the conspiracy, but eventually, when the grooming is over, they still enjoy a belly rub from monster Mom.

What amazes me most is their excitement when I hold out their collars and re-attach them securely around their necks. Don’t these dogs understand that collars are confining? Don’t the collars sometimes chafe or itch? Wouldn’t life be better if Mom had nothing with which to grab them when they try to scamper away on spa night?

Is it possible my girls see the collars as a security blanket, a way for a stranger to identify them from the attached tags, or even as the vehicle by which I leash them for the highlights of their days—walks around the neighborhood.

Then it occurred to me that I, too, wear a collar of sorts. As a believer, I am “yoked” to Jesus Christ. He told me that in Matthew 11:29-30: “Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

Wait a minute! I thought I had found freedom in Christ! Now I’m reminded that my freedom has limits. If it’s any comfort, we’re all yoked to something. In the case of the Pharisees in Jesus’ day, they were yoked to the 612 laws that had been added to the Ten Commandments. These yokes were strangling them (see Acts 15:9-11).

Others were yoked to besetting sins, evil and immoral acts and debilitating habits. These thoughts and actions were enslaving both believers and unbelievers. Paul told the Galatian Christians, “For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery” (Gal. 5:1).

Would I rather be yoked to Christ or to Satan? You knew I’d find a way to plug my book in here somewhere! To find out more about how Christ sets us free from uncomfortable and confining yokes of the world, pick up a copy of When Christ Sets You Free: Living Between the Ditches series (crossbooks.com).

In my next post, we’ll talk more about Christ’s yoke. Til then, keep living between the ditches!