Tom was a poor drunken fellow who made a meager living selling things from door to door. Among his other vices, he was fond of dog fighting and he would generally be seen with some of his dogs at his heels. People called him Bulldog Tom, but one day he heard the gospel preached on the street corner.
Tom had by this time tasted some of the bitterness of sin, and he was very miserable. He heard this wonderful good news that the Son of God loved him and had died for him, and that He was willing to receive him and save him from his sins. It was indeed good news to Bulldog Tom. He believed it and obeyed it, and he cast himself at the feet of his Lord and received forgiveness of sins. He became a new man. He put away his old drunken ways, and among other things the dog-fighting went, and he began to adorn the doctrine of Christ his Saviour. He went on so well that other Christians said: “Look here, Tom, we’ve been Christians longer than you have, but you seem to have outstripped us. You got rid of your old ways. How have you done it?”
And this is what Tom said: “When I was training my dogs to fight, I did not allow them to have bones. Bones are not good for dogs in training. Sometimes when I was out with one of my dogs, he would see a bone on the road and would go for it. And I would say ‘No!’ and the dog would look up at me. Presently he would look down again at the bone, and again I would say, ‘No!’; and so long as I could keep that dog looking up at me, we got past all the bones in safety.
“It’s like that with me and my Lord,” said Tom. “There are old temptations and my old companions inviting me to come along and have a good time with them as before. But in my heart and conscience the Holy Spirit says, ‘No, Tom!’ Then I lift up my eyes to my Lord; and while my eyes are ever toward Him, I get past all the old temptation in safety.”
What a beautiful and simple manner of walk! “Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.” Gal. 5:16.
ML-12/18/1977