I ran trail rides at camp this last weekend. It's always an adventure. One of the first things I have to do is bring in all the horses we need for the group. In the off season, they're way out in the winter pasture, so the easiest way is to drive them in with the four-wheeler.
Before heading out, I put a little feed in each stall so that they would be rewarded for coming in and occupied long enough for me to shut the stall doors. The "Old Guys" have been fed every day this winter, so they were actually waiting for me at the gate. However, the rest of the herd was way out, so I drove out there and tried to encourage them to come in with much calling and waving of a riding whip.
Romeo and Onyx came in fairly easily, but Kiefer and Reggie gave me the run around and eventually out ran me. Romeo is one of our steady-eddies and his experience told him that though there was work ahead, there was also good things to be had in the barn. Kiefer and Reggie are newer and haven't yet realized that they will come in one way or the other - whether they follow my initial call or I have to come back out with halters and lead ropes.
Later, it struck me that we are often like these horses. Jesus said, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself, take up his cross and follow me" (Matthew 14:24). There are some of us who are waiting at the gate for God's call and follow as soon as He opens the door. Others of us wait for Him to come after us, but willingly follow after we see that it is the best option at hand. Still others of us make every effort to evade His calling (it means work after all!) and don't follow till He comes after us with a halter and lead.
But, even though following His call often means leaving the good we can see now (the green grass of the pasture), God knows that the good He has ahead is even better (the feed in the barn) and that His plan is really in our best interest.
So, the question I am left asking myself is, how do I respond to God's calling in my life?
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