THE CHAIN IS GONE

My wife has always told me that it is cruel to keep a dog on a chain. It is more economical, though, than building a pen. I've never forgotten the experience with one beagle I had tethered in the back yard. I'd bought one of those screw in stakes that allows the chained dog to go full circle. As the dog paced at the end of the chain, he wore a circle of brown in the green grass. One could easily tell the length of his chain. It was evident where the green of the grass stopped and the brown of the dirt began. The dog too became accustom to how long his chain was. He knew how far he could stretch. He knew the green at the edge of his circle was unreachable. One day I unhooked the chain from his collar. Back and forth he continued to pace at the circumference of the circle, never attempting to go any further. Not one foot did he try to place on the green grass. He was so accustomed to being chained that even when released his behavior was still that of one chained. Jesus has set us free. The trick of the devil is for us to still live as if we were still chained. In fact, the devil will tell us that we cannot live otherwise. That we cannot live in spiritual liberty. That we cannot reach the green grass of the overcoming life. But the devil is a liar. Christ has made us free. It is time to step out of the brown circle of bondage into the green grass of liberty. Finally, the dog realized that the chain was gone and off he went into the grass. We in Christ also need to realize that the chain is gone.