Learning from Munoz

Who is Munoz? Well, Munoz is my dog. Today, he kindly took the time to emphasize to me a very valuable spiritual lesson. Most days during the school year I take Munoz for a walk at a nearby park in the early afternoon. No one is ever there then and I can let him run loose. From the moment he jumps out of the car to the moment he jumps back in, he seems to be running. He sniffs every fallen leaf, chases every squirrel, and makes sure every bird stays in the air where it belongs.

For the first few minutes he stays fairly close by. As time goes by he moves a little further away. Eventually, he lets his inhibitions go and just takes off. However, he always likes to be in a position where he can still see me. Today, I stepped behind the wall of a shelter and peeked around at him. He was sniffing around about a hundred yards away. He glanced up and stopped dead in his tracks. He couldn't find me. Without a moments hesitation he set off at a dead sprint to where he had last seen me. I wasn't there. He turned and charged to the other end of the park. I wasn't there. I felt bad once he started letting out a few panicked barks and stepped from behind my hiding place. You would have thought he had not seen me in a year for as happy as he was to find me. All he knew was that he had wandered off, following whatever it was that had interested him, and when he paused to look up he could no longer see his master.

It doesn't take much hard thinking to see the spiritual lesson in that, does it? Yet I do not want to talk about the fact that Christians can wander away from their Master. Instead, I want to focus on our reaction when we glance up and realize that we cannot see Him from where we stand.

I am reminded of the account found in John 6:16-21. When evening came, his disciples went down to the sea, got into a boat, and started across the sea to Capernaum. It was now dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. The sea became rough because a strong wind was blowing. When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat, and they were frightened. But he said to them, "It is I; do not be afraid." Then they were glad to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going.

The sea of life gets awfully choppy sometimes, doesn't it? Sometimes we feel that strong wind blowing across our spiritual landscape. Did you notice that our Lord's disciples were very glad to take Him into the boat with them when they realized that He was near? What are we to do when we look up from our fast-paced and hectic lives, scan our spiritual horizon, and realize that our wandering has taken us far afield, so far that we cannot see our Master from where we stand?

Do you know what Munoz could have done? He could have glanced up, realized that he could not see me, turned right back around and continued his wandering. I must admit that had he chosen that path it would have stung just a bit. Yet Christians choose this path all the time. In your own life, how many Christians have you known who, having wandered far from the Lord, simply shrugged it off and kept on wondering as if they didn't have a care in the world? How terrible for them are the words of Hebrews 6:4-6! For it is impossible, in the case of those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, to restore them again to repentance, since they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt.

Also, if it would have hurt me for my dog to have continued his wandering, how much more does it hurt Jesus Christ when those whom have tasted His goodness do the same? How much sorrow and pain does a Christian force upon the Lord when he spits on His sacrifice and holds Him up to contempt? How terrible must the final outcome be for such a Christian!

My friends, I am telling you that we've got to do exactly what my dog did. When we realize that we have wandered far enough afield that we cannot even see our Master, we've got to drop everything and sprint back the way we came until we see Him again! Indeed, it is not enough for us to go just far enough back so that we can see Him, we've got to go all the way back to His side. So Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through his own blood. Therefore let us go to him outside the camp and bear the reproach he endured.

How empty life must be without Jesus standing at your side! You scan the list of the wealthiest people in the world and you realize that not a penny of their wealth matters if they do not know Jesus. Daily on the news we see people suffering tragedy and they attempt to navigate through their hour of trial without our Lord's light to guide them. How truly did the Ecclesiastes writer say, The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man (Ecclesiastes 12:13).

Christians are the most fortunate people on the face of this earth. "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places" (Ephesians 1:3). Every blessing necessary and beneficial to the inner man, God will provide to His children. Since the spirit, not the flesh, will continue into eternity, we can see how truly wonderful these blessings are. Should we not cling to the one who makes these blessings possible? Should we not take care that we are walking by His side each and every step of the way? If we find that we have wandered away from His side, should we not drop everything and sprint back the way we came? Certainly we should!

Remember, "let us go to him." And, once we have found Him, let us cling to His side as if our lives depended on it. In truth, they do.