Out Our Way: Riding the thickets - Colossians 3:12

Out our way, a lot of cowboys wear chaps. Not the ornate and decorated cloth type worn in parades, but heavy duty leather ones that can turn aside the thorns and sharp branches of the wooded thickets where strays sometimes wander. I have told the story before of the big fall roundup in which Big Mike and his buddies scoured the pastures with four-wheelers and drove in some 200-300 stock. But he still needed Charlie and me in chaps and on horseback, because there were strays hidden in the thickets where the four-wheelers could not go. As I recollect, we managed to find and bring in another 50-70 head the motorized cowboys missed that day. But that's why we were there - to hunt the thickets and seek the calves and cows that had been missed in the initial sweep. In the thickets, there is no grass or water, and often there are coyotes and even the occasional cougar ready to pull down that hidden calf. We ride the thickets for the Boss and for the strays.

Today in my devotions, I read a piece by the Rev. Reuben Job, in which he reminded us that as Christians, we are to follow Christ by going where He went and doing what He did. He cited the Colassians passage as a guide and, as the cowboy puts on his chaps for the work in the thickets, so the disciple clothes her/himself with the "work clothes"of discipleship which are: "Compassion, Kindness, Humility, Meekness and Patience." Reverend Job's point was that as followers of Christ, we are all called to ride the thicket.

Hunting strays in the thickets is not easy. The strays are hidden by the trees and thorn bushes so you have to be deliberate in looking for them. You have to seek them out! Same with looking for the hurting folks in our midst ... they can be invisible to us unless we actively look for them. That is compassion.

Riding into the thorns, even with good chaps, is often painful for the thorns and branches often manage to find vulnerable places where they can stick, poke and smack you as you make your way through the bramble. You have to care enough to want to find the strays and put their welfare before your own comfort. That is kindness.

Riding the thicket is not much fun and you may envy those who don't have to do it. But it has to be done and you are the one called to do it. So what if the others are on 4-wheelers racing along in the open and enjoying the fun of it? You ride the thicket because it is where the Boss sent you. That is called humility.

The gullies and arroyos are not only filled with thorns and poking branches, but the air is heavy as the prairie winds seldom penetrate. It is hard to see, hot and muggy. It is not a pleasant place. But you ride the thicket because you are a cowboy and that is what a cowboy has to do. You don't grumble or complain, because you accepted that role when you signed up with the Boss's outfit. That is meekness - not "weakness" as some think, but acceptance of the call and willingness to do whatever it takes to get the job done because you "ride for the brand" even when it's no fun.

And finally, the reality is that there are many thickets to ride and most offer nothing but thorns. You work your way into them and find no strays - but you could not know that until you checked them all out. So you ride the thickets all day, one at a time, and only now and then find the strays you were seeking. But there is no other way but to ride every thicket until they are all cleared. There are days when, as disciples, we feel we are wasting our time and reaching no one. Days, weeks, months and yes, even years go by without any sign we have accomplished anything for the Kingdom. The thickets appear to be empty! And yet, not all the thickets are empty - for now and then a stray is found and returned to the herd where there will be grazing and water and safety. Hours of riding the painful and usually empty thickets for one lone stray. Yet we do it for the Boss and for that stray. That is called patience.

Do I get discouraged, impatient, irritated, self-pitying, and such? Yup. Every day, I fear. And I confess there are far too many days when I want to avoid riding the thickets. That is why daily I seek out quiet time for prayer, meditation and spiritual reading. It is how I put on my "spiritual chaps" and cinch up my courage and determination to ride the thickets anyway. I bear a great many scars from thorns that got past my chaps and hat and vest, etc. - but now and then I help a stray calf leave the thorns and head for the main herd where it will finally find the good grazing, fresh water, and safety that was never to be found in the thickets.

Be blessed and be a blessing!

Brother John

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The Rev. John Bruington is the retired pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Havre. He now lives in Colorado, but continues to write "Out Our Way." He can be reached for comment or dialogue at [email protected].