OXES AND TIGERS (A Modern Parable)<\/b><\/p>\n
The circus lion was tamed (broken) through abuse.\u00a0 Yet its trainer backs up when the abused lion remembers that it is a lion and with a mighty roar and bared claws begins to assert its own will.\u00a0 But the cruel trainer does not permanently back up, he backs up to regroup and to let the lion get the rebellion out of his system.\u00a0 Then the cruel trainer comes back with the same cruel tactics previously used he makes the lion obey.\u00a0 The lion submits and so his abuse begins again.\u00a0 The lion had a glimmer of hope but now the hope is snatched from him.\u00a0 Now he is more broken than before.\u00a0 Now he believes that the cruel whip that keeps him in control is his lot in life.\u00a0 He is now less what he was born to be, even than before he rebelled against his treatment.\u00a0 Now he is less likely to think for himself, to be himself and instead he will even more believe that he has no rights and deserves no rights to freedom.\u00a0 And when he returns to the cage to be with his companions they mock him.\u00a0 What has he gained?\u00a0 For all his troubles he is back in the same spot.\u00a0 They sneer \u201cyou have suffered for nothing.\u201d\u00a0 Mocking, they say He should give up his hope for freedom and become obedient to the whip the master holds. \u00a0He should accept his fate as they have.\u00a0 Yet his cage companions don’t know what he saw when he was briefly loose.\u00a0 The feeling he had during his short freedom. For the rest of his life he will long and sigh for the sweet freedom he had once tasted.\u00a0 The taste his fellows never had.\u00a0 In his sleep he dreams of freedom, but when he wakes, he faces the cruel trainer with his biting whip.<\/p>\n
While the beaten into submission circus lions submit, there are, in the wild, free lions who live out lion lives.\u00a0 These lions would rather die than submit.\u00a0 They know who they are.\u00a0 They know what they were born to be.\u00a0 The fierce roar of the free lions warns the surrounding occupants of the land that he is free, that he is untamed and he is living as he was created to live.<\/p>\n
The cruel tyrant of the circus lions will never let them be free.\u00a0 They will die a slave to the whip.\u00a0 He will never willingly give up control.\u00a0 Tyrants never do.<\/p>\n
Family and Friends have we sludged through mud all this time to return to the path of sludge we have already dirtied ourselves with?\u00a0 From the beach shall we return to the mud pit?\u00a0 Having crawled through the mire (that we had so despised crawling through) do we now so quickly fall back into believing the lies that first forced us through the mud?\u00a0 Are we beasts of lower station that only submit to the cruel taskmaster’s whip and know nothing of God given intellect or God given free will?\u00a0 Cruel taskmasters do not love the beast of burden that they control.\u00a0 Instead they will drive an ox until it falls.\u00a0 Then the taskmaster will finish it off, consume it, and start the cycle afresh with a new beast.\u00a0 Family and Friends are we only unthinking beasts who have beaten to into a brain-washed state that only obeys the taskmaster.<\/p>\n
Galatians 5:1<\/b>\u00a0– It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.\u00a0Stand firm,\u00a0then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.<\/p>\n
Hebrews 2:15<\/b>\u00a0–\u00a0and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear\u00a0of death.<\/i><\/p>\n
John 8:36<\/b>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.<\/i><\/p>\n
2 Peter 2:21-22<\/b>\u00a0–\u00a0\u00a0<\/sup><\/b><\/span>It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them.\u00a022\u00a0Of them the proverbs are true: \u201cA dog returns to its vomit,\u201d\u00a0and, \u201cA sow that is washed returns to her wallowing in the mud.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n Did God free Israel from Egypt to lead them back to the cruel leadership of the Pharaohs?\u00a0 Does God give us a taste of freedom from the Law to then put us back under it?\u00a0 We are freed in the spirit how will we willingly allow ourselves to be physically shackled and physically enslaved.\u00a0 It is not as if we were born slaves.\u00a0 People born free do not willing become slaves to tyrants.\u00a0\u00a0 However, some have willingly become indentured servants (willing) to the kind and generous.\u00a0 They are those who finding something better than they can produce for themselves and so have submitted to the one who can, and will, provide them a life far superior to anything they could provide for themselves.\u00a0 We were born free, do we now agree to submit to cruel and capricious tyrants.\u00a0 Family and Friends, tyrants never willingly give up control.\u00a0 Their whipping arm never tires.\u00a0 Control must be snatched from them and given back into the hands of trusted fellows or settle for a tyrant\u2019s control and for a lifetime grow accustomed to the sting of the tyrant whip that will provide scars on our backs.\u00a0 How do people willingly allowed ourselves to become enslaved by evil men?\u00a0 Have we known freedom so much in vain, was it really in vain?<\/p>\n Yet \u201cin all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.\u00a038<\/a>For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,\u00a0k<\/a>\u00a0neither the present nor the future, nor any powers,\u00a039<\/a>neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord<\/i>.\u201d (Romans 8:37-39<\/b>)\u00a0 So, while we do not willingly give up the freedom were born into, whether we are free, or are slaves, our spirits remain free because Jesus Christ.\u00a0 Thank you Jesus!\u00a0 Praise God!<\/p>\n Psalm 150:6<\/b>\u00a0–\u00a0Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.\u00a0 Praise the Lord!<\/p>\n Micah 7:7<\/b>\u00a0–\u00a0But as for me, I watch\u00a0in hope\u00a0for the\u00a0Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear\u00a0me.<\/p>\n Micah 6:8<\/b>\u00a0–\u00a0He has shown You, O man, what\u00a0is\u00a0good; And what does the\u00a0Lord\u00a0require of You but to do justly, to love mercy, And to walk humbly with Your God.<\/p>\n Numbers 6:24-26<\/b>\u00a0\u201cThe\u00a0Lord\u00a0bless you and keep you; 25\u00a0the\u00a0Lord\u00a0make His face shine on you and be gracious to you; 26\u00a0the\u00a0Lord\u00a0turn His face\u00a0toward you and give you peace.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" OXES AND TIGERS (A Modern Parable) The circus lion was tamed (broken) through abuse.\u00a0 Yet its trainer backs up when the abused lion remembers that it is a lion and with a mighty roar and bared claws begins to assert its own will.\u00a0 But the cruel trainer does not permanently back up, he backs up…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1192],"tags":[1969,104,100,94,1874,90,17],"class_list":["post-2303","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-devotion","tag-galatians","tag-hebrews","tag-john","tag-micah","tag-numbers","tag-peter","tag-psalm"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2303","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2303"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2303\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2304,"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2303\/revisions\/2304"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2303"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2303"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2303"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}