Bulldog Schedules

So we went on a vacation for a few days. Joe only had a couple of days off left due to the virus and plant shut downs so we capitalized on the long weekend. We couldn’t really go far but we are blessed with a sweet man who loans us his lake “cabin.” (Read beautiful, secluded lake home.) This spot allows us to get away from the world as there is no cell data available for a good mile or two and even then it is spotty, no WiFi for even further. We are forced to relax. We took the boat as Joe like to fish and drive around the lake and I like sun and water...anywhere, of any kind, always. 

While the girl bulldogs mope that they are being left behind, the truth is told when we return. When we go away, their human brother, Kota is in charge. He is a softy. I always leave him a schedule of when to feed them and more importantly, how much to feed them. When to let them out an make them go run around the yard for exercise as they need to keep their girlish figures. We have spoiled the girls, they get three treats in the morning, just for going outside to pee early and then again at dinner time but they must sit for them. There are rules and their brother knows the rules. 

 

As we leave, their faces are long And they look sad. When we return we see the evidence of the party that ensued while we were gone. They got to sleep late. By the looks of the missing treats in the container, I am certain the managed to con Kota for more unless he forgot how to count to three. They probably got them just for breathing. Their bowls were empty when we came home but the missing dog food indicated they may have had seconds a time or three. The soccer balls were exactly were we left them so I am pretty sure no bulldog soccer happened. Most importantly, Kota doesn’t work out every morning so neither did they. While mom and dad were away - they partied away.

The truth is we knew it would be this way. Without strict oversight, bulldogs aren’t known for motivation to make great life choices. They have their own will and they exercise it well and often. Humans are no different. Since the beginning when God gave Adam and Eve one stinking rule, they broke it. God gave Moses Ten Commandments, which eventually became the law for the Hebrew people. God instituted other laws throughout working with His chosen people and guess what, when they didn’t have someone enforcing the laws, His people broke them. They broke the rules to the point that religious leaders began to make more laws to undergird the existing laws; rules to make the rules work, which didn’t work. 

Why do we break laws/rules, or at least some rules. I follow most all rules and laws but there is one area that is 30 MPH that I drive often. It makes absolutely no sense for that stretch of road to be 30 miles per hour. So sadly, I often find myself speeding, a little, through that area, even when I consciously plan to not speed. As I read through the Old Testament, I am thankful, I was not a pre-Jesus Jew. I would have never made it I am certain.

As I study, we come to the portion in the Sermon on the Mount, the point when Matthew records Jesus’ longest discourse to teach Jews and the new followers, God’s true intention for living in the God’s Kingdom here on earth. Those that had been following and listening to Jesus were excited, I am sure. This new guy seemed to be abolishing the old law, doing away with food rules, circumcision and other tough rules to prove loyalty to God. But Jesus makes it clear, “I did not come to abolish the law, I came to fulfill it.” What the heck does that mean??

Well first of all we have to understand God’s laws in the first place. God was trying to “train” these untrained people, when they were chosen to be the people that brought everyone else back to God. He chose Abraham and his lineage to be righteous and shaped by the ways and glory of God to be the light that showed the way for others back to their Creator and living with Him as originally planned. But bless them, they just couldn’t follow the laws that gave them life  with God and life from death. So enter the Messiah. Messiah the very name means “anointed one.” The one chosen by God. His name, given to his parents by God for him, Jesus, means the one who saves. Jesus was announced to come and save these silly people that were headed for eternal death. But he didn’t do it by getting rid of the law. Those laws were important at that time but it has never been laws that save you. It is the life found in right living with God.

Our bulldogs need their diet and exercise. They are not built for speed, swimming or fitness. They are prone to getting fat with tiny little legs of a chihuahua and often bad hips to carry the weight of a Labrador chest.  God’s people needed boundaries to live within to find life in God, to become holy; holy enough to live with God and for health and safety. But you can’t legislate morality. Or so said Barry Goldwater when he voted against the Civil Rights Act in 1964. Barry was probably right as he had no intention of legislating right behavior to his fellow mankind. And I am sure the fact that attempting to legislate righteousness for His people wasn’t working, and they all broke laws and were headed for death eternal, God stepped down from His throne, packed on humanity along with His divinity and anointed His Word - Jesus to teach, show what behavior was important for righteousness.  Like bulldog laws, it is helpful to know why the laws are there. 

Jesus is fulfilling the law by explaining right behavior for Kingdom living; behavior not ruggedly attempting to legislate holiness. Our behavior, through Jesus can be shaped into a beautifully woven relationship with God because we love Him first and show love to ALL others as much as we love ourself. 

Jesus didn’t get the credit, but he basically said, “you can’t legislate morality. But I can show you what it looks like and why it is important. I can also remove eternal death from sin to remove your death sentence. Take this freedom from death and LEARN, DO, and the you will BE holy.” But the laws of God for His Kingdom still exist. Martin Luther King rebutted Barry Goldwater with, “It may be true the law cannot make a man love me, but it can keep him from lynching me and I think that is pretty important.”  Laws hopefully, at least make us think about our behavior before we act. They help us know what is expected of from us toward others.

Interestingly, this passage ends with a confusing statement about doing better than the Pharisees at law following. The Pharisees were the religious leaders, hence the confusion. Pharisees being the folks tasked with interpreting laws when harmony was needed between what was written and actual life. Yet, by the time Jesus arrived on the scene, many (most) religious leaders were great at interpreting the law but not actually following it. In fact, often the law was interpreted to their personal gain. Kind of like not following a bulldog schedule to have less work to do or less sad faces and begging. As you read the Sermon, take note of the parts when Jesus says, “You have heard it say....But I say....” Jesus is helping those listening understand God’s actual intent for our lives beyond simple rule following. A life lived in the shadow of God’s Kingdom awaiting it to come.

Today:

👩🏽‍💻 Read Mathew 5

👩🏽‍💻 As you break rules, laws, ask yourself why does it exist.

👩🏽‍💻 Seek to live for God through righteousness in Him