~The Lord led me to read this story at a time when I was crying out to Him for some answers. I felt as though I was the only one being made to be more and more obedient, while others seem to go about their "christianity" prospering no matter what they did.~~The Harness Of The Lord~By: Bill Britton(a dream)On a dirt road in the middle of a wide field stood the King's carriage, edged in gold, with beautifully carved accoutrements. It was pulled by six large horses, two in the lead, two in the middle, and two in the rear. But the horseswere not moving; they were not pulling the carriage, and I wondered why.Than I saw the driver underneath the carriage, on the ground on his back, just behind the last two horses' hooves, working on something between the front wheels of the carriage. I thought "My, he's in a dangerous place. If one of the horses kicks, or steps back, it could kill him. Or if they decided to go forward, or got frightened somehow. they could pull the carriage right over him." But he didn't seem afraid, for he knew that the horses were disciplined and would not move until he told them to move. The horses were neither stamping their hooves, nor acting restless. There were bells on their hooves, but they were not tinkling. There were pom-poms on their heads, but the pom-poms were not moving. They were simply standing still andquiet, waiting for the voice of the King.As I watched the harnessed horses, I noticed two young colts coming out onto the open field next to the dirt road. They approached the carriage and seemed to say to the King's horses: "Come and play with us. We have many fine games. We will race with you. Come catch us..." And with that, the colts kicked up their hooves, flicked their tails, and raced across the open field. But when they looked back and saw the harnessed horses were not following, they were puzzled. Again, the colts called to them:"Why do you stand so in the hot sun? Come over here in the shade. See how green the grass is? You must be hungry. Come and feed with us. It is so abundant, so green and so good. You look thirsty. Come and drink from one of the many streams of cool water." But the horsesdidn't reply or respond in any way. The colts knew nothing of harnesses, and could not understand why these horses did not respond. The colts again called to the horses, but they did not answer. Neither did they stamp their feetor toss their head in response. They stood quiet and still, waiting for the voice of their King.The scene changed. I saw lariats fall around the necks of two colts, and they were led off to the King's corral for training and discipline.How sad they were as the lovely green fields dissapeared, and they were put into the confinment of the corral with it's brown dirt and high fence. The colts ran from fence to fence, seeking freedom, but found that they were confined to this place of training. And then the Trainer began to work with them, with his whip and his bridle. How difficult, for those who had been accustomed to such "freedom" all of their lives. The colts could not understand the reason for this "torture" and discipline. What great crime had they done to deserve this? Little did they know of the responsibility that was to be theirs when they had submitted to the discipline and finished their training, learning to perfectly obey their Trainer. All they knew was that this training was the most horrible thing theyhad ever known.One of the colts rebelled under the training, and said, "This is not for me." I like my freedom, my green hills, my flowing streans of fresh water. I will not take any more of this confinement, this terrible discipline." So he found a way out, jumped the fence and ran happily back to the meadows of grass. And I was astonished that the Trainer let him go, and did not go after him. He devoted his attention to the remaining colt. This colt, though he had the same opportunity to escape, decided to submit his own will, and learn the ways of the Trainer. And the training got harder than ever. But he was rapidly learning more and more how to obey the slightest wish of the Trainer, and to respond to even the quietness of his voice.And I saw that there had been no training or testing, there would havebeen neither submission nor rebellion from either of the colts. For in the field, they did not have the choice to rebel or submit. But when brought to the place of testing, training, and discipline, it was then that the obedience of the one and the rebellion of the other were made manifest. And though it seemed safer not to come to the place of discipline and confinement because of the risk of being found rebellious, yet I saw that without this there could be no sharing of the abundance of the King.Finally, the period of training was over. Was the colt now rewarded with his freedom, and sent back to the fields? cont. to part 2
