Junkyard Dogs

Everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved.   Romans 10:13

Christ is able to save us from our enemies precisely because he is able to subdue them. The fact that he is Lord qualifies him to act as Savior. That’s why Scripture says, “Everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved.”

When I was five years old, my father would take me to a junkyard outside Edinburgh to get spare parts for our car. It was a marvelous place for a child with a vivid imagination to play.

The system was simple: you could strip pieces that you needed off the cars and then pay for them at the gate as you left. But some people were in the habit of taking parts off the cars, throwing them over the perimeter fence, walking past the gate without paying, and then picking up the stuff in the wasteland outside.

So the owners cleared a no-go area around the inside of the fence and barricaded it with a three-foot-high rail. They brought in German shepherd guard dogs, which were leashed to the railing so they could patrol the entire perimeter. As long as you did not go within a few feet of the fence, you were perfectly safe.

One day while my father was getting parts for our car, I found a truck and climbed into the cab. I was lost in an imaginary world of truck driving, when suddenly one of the dogs broke free from its chain and came bounding toward me.

I don’t think I’ve ever been so terrified in my life. I screamed, as any small child would, and my father rushed over. After a struggle, he subdued the dog. The fact that he was able to subdue the dog was the reason he was able to deliver me from its power. If you can’t subdue the dog, you can’t save the boy.

Christ is able to save us from our enemies because he has authority over them. He is able to deliver us from sin because his power is greater than the power of temptation. He’s able to bring us safely through death because he triumphed over the grave. He’s able to open the doors of heaven because all authority in heaven belongs to him.

For further reading, see Romans 10