I'm a dog lover. Always have been. A few months ago we picked out a really cool chocolate lab and named him Charlie. Like me, Charlie is a runner. Very seldom have I seen a dog run like him. When Charlie gets off the leash he vanishes. Once he recognizes that he is free he hits the boosters and is gone. There is no lookin' back. There is a joy and energy to his running that makes me smile. I am conflicted when he gets off the leash because I know I'm not going to see ole Charlie for awhile and I worry about him. And yet the other side of me understands his excitement and how he must feel. In some strange way I have been there. I was young and wild at heart and I got off the leash a few times. When we are walking together I talk to charlie a lot about the dangers out there in this world. I tell him to stay off the road. I tell him he can't go onto other peoples property. I try to explain to him that he shouldn't taste everything he thinks smells interesting. I talk, but I also know that he doesn't get it. He is a dog.
Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ speaks to us also. He walks with us and he talks with us. He has a couple of special ways of revealing himself to us. When I'm out there in the woods with Charlie I can sense and catch glimpses of God. We call that general revelation. But understanding this God takes much more than that. General revelation doesn't tell me how I got here or what I'm supposed to be doing. It doesn't tell me what God wants from me or what I can expect from God. General revelation does not define our relationship. For that we need special revelation.
The other day Charlie was pulling me around the neighborhood on my bike. It was dark outside and we were going pretty fast. But as we turned the corner, right there under the street light, in plain view, were two of Charlies neighborhood rivals. Two little bunnies that have been antagonizing Charlie when he is on the leash. There was no pause, just a change in direction. Charlie shot after those bunnies so fast it just jerked me right off the bike. In the aftermath I realized that I had let go of the leash and Charlie had vanished.
I drove around the neighborhood for quite awhile calling his name. In my mind I could just see him out in the woods with that big ole retractable leash handle caught on something. From that point on it started to rain, thunder and lightening. I had a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. Reluctantly, after several loops around the neighborhood, I retired for the evening. When I woke Charlie was still no where to be found. It continued to rain.
Charlie found his way home almost 24 hours later. We found him on the back deck, tail waging, tongue hanging and looking pretty rough. It was still raining. I was happy to see him and we were all relieved that he was OK. I was relieved but I was also burdened. Burdened knowing that Charlies freedom fests could someday cost him his life. I felt a new urgency to train Charlie. He needs to learn some very speciifc things. I have to get Charlie to heed my voice, to recognize it and to respond to it. If only I could speak in a way that he could understand. Just one day with the ability to bark out some orders in his own dialect.
Aren't you glad that God has already figured that for us? You see Christ is that special revelation. He is Emanuel, God-with-us, the god-man. He spoke our language, walked our walk and talked our talk. That is what God did for you. He knows the trouble all around us. He sees it and he is reaching out to us to bring us to safety. If you Have Christ as the Lord of your life you have the ability to understand God. "We know also that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding" (1John 5:20). Jesus Christ is that special revelation that will guide us and keep us close to the Fathers heart so that we do not get lost again.
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