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).

Leading from Behind

“Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, ‘This is the way, walk in it.’” Isaiah 30:21


(This morning’s conversation with God:)

Say what?

No, Lord, Your voice is to be ahead of me not behind me—you know, showing me the Way. Because you go before me, right? You’re the leader; I’m the follower. “Lead on, O King Eternal,” as the hymn says.

You see, I don’t like the implications of Isaiah 30:21. It suggests that I must walk the way of faith, stepping off into the unknown through the leading of the Holy Spirit.

I prefer to know exactly where I’m going, what I’ll be doing, how I’ll know on the front end, and—if it’s not asking too much—the exact outcomes. After all, isn’t that the essence of prayer—being assured of the right path to take?

What’d You say? Of course I’ve read Hebrews 11. Lord, I’ve read the whole Bible! I know that Noah built an ark before he’d ever seen rain. Abraham was told to go to a land You would show him, and Moses wandered around in the desert for 40 years. But these are Bible stories—not real life!

Being a person of faith requires—well—faith. I’m the practical sort; seeing is believing. Faith requires relationship instead of a formula; a Person, not just a book; a Spirit blowing through my life that brings (dreaded) spontaneity and flexibility. Faith means being “at the ready,” and I like to plan my days well in advance.

What’d You say? I thought I heard something from behind me.

“Walk in it.” Yes Lord, one step at a time.