And Jesus answered and said, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel€s, but he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life. - Mark 10:29-30
It was too quiet. Our new puppy, Kali, was in the house, but I did not know where. She did not yet know how to behave herself while in the house, so I decided I should investigate. I came upon her just as she was grabbing the edge of the roll of bathroom tissue. €No!€ I bellowed as I rushed toward her. She quickly turned tail and ran . . . still holding on to the paper! Whoosh! Tissue went streaming down the hall and into the next room. I could not help but laugh at the sight!
Since that day, I have learned that to teach a pet the commands €drop it€ or €leave it€ can be beneficial. That way, if she has something that could be harmful to her or that we do not want her to destroy, we may be able to get it away from her more quickly.
What is our reaction when God tells us to drop something for the sake of our spiritual well-being? Sometimes He warns us of things that will not be good for us spiritually, and asks us to leave them. Or, He could ask us to drop things that may hurt our testimony or discourage a brother or sister who is watching us. How well do we listen when God tells us to drop these things? It is always best if we obey quickly. If we grab them and run, rather than giving them to God, we can end up with quite a mess!
We may not always understand why God asks something of us. Afterward, He may allow us to see the trouble He spared us from, but then again He may not. The important thing is to trust in His never-failing love for us, knowing He has a purpose. Someday we will know the reason why. Meanwhile, we can choose to do things the easy way and be quick to obey.