When we got home from church the other morning, I saw the most normal thing. I have seen this probably thousands of times. A little dog, most likely a Bichon, was walking his human and then suddenly stopped in front of a tree to mark his territory. Now, Jen and I have been dog owners most of our marriage, and we have been married for just over 20 years, so that’s a lot of dog walks. I have seen this action way too many times to count. I thought to myself, this dog has no clue how small he is in comparison to the tree he is standing by, he just knows that it is his territory. Enough said, this is my tree! Or, I marking this my tree, because the last guy thought it was his tree, but it’s not – it’s mine!
I began to think about how God marks His territory, okay not really territory, but how He marks His people to mark His territory. I then realized – God uses you and I to “mark” His territory based on His use for us in His-Story. It is not about our size. It is not about our abilities. It is not about our past, our future, or our history. Not skills, looks, background, dreams, and so on… It’s about His desire to you use you and I.
Ironically, I am understanding these same things in my life right now in a new way, like never before. It is more than just getting pithy sermon stories or 1-2-3 points. It is becoming more about understanding Gods ways in a deeper and more personal way like never before. Not merely being a mouthpiece for what He could do, but being a billboard for what He is doing or what He has done! It’s a refreshing place. A healthy place. A calming place. A secure place. I don’t understand the reasoning all the time, but I love the relationship of just who He is and who I am and wanting to become – MORE LIKE HIM! This is not to say that I am always even keel and above brokenness, but it is to say that I have a deeper awareness of who God is, and who I am in relation to my Heavenly Father!
1 John 4:4, “You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.”
Just like the little white fluffy dog, you and I are greater because of something more than just us! That little dog on the sidewalk, he was invincible with his owner right there. He didn’t care about the size of the tree, the surroundings of the neighborhood. His human was there. It was his territory.
So Sir, Ma’am, Young person, leader, or servant… The size of your territory is not indicative of your personal attributes. The size of your territory is indicative of your receptivity to His Purpose, His Desires, His-Story for your life. It continues to baffle me that the opening line of Rick Warren’s book – ‘Purpose Driven Life‘ – “It’s not about you.” Now that’s a tough line when read by itself, but it is a freeing line in lieu of standing in the shadow of our Heavenly Father’s story for our life. It is our Destiny!
Let me tell you today, no matter what you see of yourself in the mirror. No matter what your past, present, or your future speaks to you or of you – you are greater than he that is in the world. The one that would for sure want you to give up, not try, walk away from, not seize His Territory for You! And he is so small compared to the One that created your destiny!
There is that one line, “It is not the size of the dog in the fight. It is the size of the fight in the dog!” I am writing a new line…
“It’s not about the size of the heart in the human, it is still His territory, and He has it for you and I!”