Bella And Alexa

Bella and Alexa

There are two females in my house who I can give orders to without question. The other two, my wife and daughter, often question what I say. But Bella and Alexa know better.

Bella is our best-friend golden doodle, who has all sorts of personality. She loves to be in the middle of things, and she can’t wait to load up in the truck to get the kids off to school. Bella is getting better about obedience the older she gets and the more established our patterns become.

Alexa is an Amazon Echo that my wife and kids gave me for Christmas. Alexa is special. I tell her to play music, and she dials in something perfect for me. I ask her to give me the weather forecast, and without batting an eye, she immediately tells me our local weather forecast. If she is too loud, I don’t have to ask her to be quiet; I just say, “Alexa, volume three,” and she turns it down. If I want to add something to the shopping list, I give her the command, and it gets done.

But neither Alexa nor Bella gives perfect obedience. Alexa doesn’t always understand my inquiry, so she sometimes tells me that she doesn’t have an answer to my question. Bella, the three-year-old canine, has a will of her own that often disregards the request of her master. Though she is growing in obedience, Bella often struggles to get it right.

I am familiar with Bella’s conflict. I, too, struggle to get it right before my master, the Lord Jesus Christ. I am thankful for the apostle Paul’s honest admission at the end of Romans 7 where he speaks of his own struggle to obey, and his opening words of Romans 8: “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (verse 1, ESV). Though I struggle, Christ’s amazing grace abounds!

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

Romans 8:1, ESV