S5 E32 - A Dog & The Dreaded Stairs

We went on vacation to NC and took our two dogs with us. Our large puppy had never experienced stairs before, and I didn't realize that some dogs didn't know naturally how to go up and down them. He was terrified and I had to carry him before training him. It took a lot of patience and gentleness, but finally he figured it out over the course of the week. 

Those who are seasoned and mature Christians need to exercise the same patience and gentleness with new Christians. Things you're a seasoned pro with are challenging and new for them, and they need taught how to do them. It's not that they don't want to, it's that they can't do them unless they are patiently instructed. 

#SetYourMindAbovePodcast

Transcript

What if I told you that God could be seen in the most ordinary things every day? 

What if I told you that every day, ordinary events could teach us extraordinary eternal truths? Would you believe me? 

 Welcome back to season 5 of the Set Your Mind Above Podcast! My name is BJ Sipe, and I am a Christian, a preacher, a husband, and a father. And I’m excited to share a few moments together with you learning some important lessons from the simplest things. Let’s grow together! 

We’re finally back after an extended break for my family and me in the mountains of North Carolina. We desperately needed some time away, as we had not taken a vacation at all this whole year. To be able to go visit family in one of the most beautiful places in this country was just what the doctor ordered. The color in the trees was richer than we’ve seen in many years, the views were breathtaking, and the chance to turn our phones off to disconnect from the world and reconnect with each other in nature has caused us to come back rejuvenated and refreshed. This trip was a little different in one respect, however, and that is because this trip we brought both of our dogs with us. Traveling with our little, tiny miniature golden doodle named Ollie is always fairly easy, but this time we also needed to travel with our not so little “miniature” golden doodle named Rusty – who is a 60 pound, 5-month-old puppy. He did surprisingly well in the car, which I thought was going to be the biggest challenge. It turns out, there was going to be a far greater challenge for our big dopey puppy once we got to my in-laws home; something he had never encountered before and that I had never even thought about being a challenge: stairs. 

Our home here in Kentucky has virtually no stairs. We have a few stairs going down from our garage door onto the concrete floor, and a few stairs leading up to our front door as well. However, Rusty had never been out the front or garage door before, only the back door into the back yard which has no stairs at all – simply one small step down. However, the only way to get in and out of my in-laws’ mountain home is a considerable number of stairs in any entrance. We pulled up and started to make our way inside the house, but Rusty was refusing to come. At first, I thought he was simply being stubborn and wanting to sniff around and play outside more, but as I tried to take him by the collar and walk him up the stairs, he started vehemently pulling back away from me. It became apparent that it wasn’t that he would not climb those stairs, but that he could not climb those stairs – which is hilarious given his size. I had just assumed dogs by nature knew how to do this. I had to pick this 60-pound dog up and carry him up the stairs to get him inside. 

Knowing that I wasn’t going to want to have to carry this dog up and down the stairs every time he needed to go outside, we got right to work on trying to get him comfortable with stairs. We tried coaxing him with sausage and other treats, but not even that was working at first – he was terrified. We finally got him, while shaking, to lay at the top of the stairs, and we put a little piece of turkey sausage on each step. Very slowly, this great big scaredy cat dog took an hour (literally) to arm crawl down one flight of stairs with assistance. It wasn’t going smoothly. It took the better part of the first day to get him comfortable with the idea of going up and down the stairs. By day two, after having watched Ollie do it a dozen times and us exercising a lot of patience and gentleness, he finally started stumbling up and down the stairs on his own. It wasn’t graceful, but at least he was doing it. Thankfully as the week went on, he figured it out entirely, and was going up and down the stairs on his own like a pro. 

The dreaded stairs experience reminded me of some simple truths that we would do well to keep in mind regarding how we exercise patience, gentleness, and understanding with each other – especially those who are younger in the faith. In order to bring this out, let’s first set up another principle from Scripture that we can find in Philippians 3:12-16. “Not that I have already reached the goal or am already perfect, but I make every effort to take hold of it because I also have been taken hold of by Christ Jesus. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and reaching forward to what is ahead, I pursue as my goal the prize promised by God’s heavenly call in Christ Jesus. Therefore, let all of us who are mature think this way. And if you think differently about anything, God will reveal this also to you. In any case, we should live up to whatever truth we have attained.” 

Paul’s statement is both an admonition and an encouragement: we are to live up to whatever truth we have attained. All of us have ways in which we must continue to grow and mature, that is a given. But even in this, what we can infer from Paul’s words is that we are each at varying stages and levels of maturity in our walk with Christ. For the seasoned Christian who has walked with the Lord for decades, they have been equipped and serving for years and years. As a result, they are more than likely (and should be) very mature in their faith and in their service to God. For the novice however – the one who is young or simply young in the faith – they are at a very different level of spiritual maturity. They are still learning the foundational basics of faith and love in Christ Jesus, still coming to know and understand His will, and as a result are relatively immature still in their faith and service towards God. 

Knowing this, this foundational principle brings us to the lesson we want to emphasize today – and that is understanding the level of patience, gentleness, and instruction that those who are spiritually mature must be willing to demonstrate to those who are young or young in faith. Consider the text of 1 Thessalonians 5:14, “And we exhort you, brothers and sisters: warn those who are idle, comfort the discouraged, help the weak, be patient with everyone.” In Paul’s instruction, he calls for a great exercise in patience towards those who are weak or immature in their faith – why? Because there are a great number of things that for the seasoned Christian are second nature – things they have done and practiced for years of their life and have become proficient in. However, those very same things are the things that newer Christians or those who are weak in their faith have yet to learn how to do. For the seasoned Christian, forgiving those who have wronged them is something they have practiced for years and are ready and willing to do in an instant. But for the new Christian, forgiveness might be one of the most difficult things they’ve ever tried to exercise. It’s not that they are unwilling to forgive others, it is simply that they have yet to learn how to do so. There are countless ways to apply this principle; I relate to this a lot as a young parent. There are things that Kylie and I are experiencing with our kids that are difficult and hard, because we are experiencing them for the first time. As I share what we’re going through with seasoned parents and those who have already raised their kids, I’m often met with a chuckle and then immediate sympathy from those we go to for counsel – because they remember how hard it was for them as well. But now, they are in a position to help us because they are going up and down the stairs of parenthood like pros, giving us an example to watch as we shake fearfully at the top of the first step. 

Paul would continue to say in Philippians 3:17, “Join in imitating me, brothers and sisters, and pay careful attention to those who live according to the example you have in us.” Those who are mature in faith and seasoned in their discipleship have a responsibility to instruct and show the way to those who are just beginning their walk with Christ. While some of these things might seem second nature or elementary to you, they are extraordinarily difficult for the new Christian. You can help to make their walk easier by patiently and gently showing them the way in which to go. And as for those who are newer Christians, you have a responsibility to be willing to receive instruction and learn from those who have been walking long before you. You cannot allow fear and a lack of knowledge to keep you paralyzed from moving forward. Growth will be slow, and you will need to take it one step at a time, and there will be times that it’s not going to be pretty as you fumble through things you’re learning to do in faith. But the beauty of it all is that you don’t have to do it alone. You have others who are ready and willing to patiently and gently show you the way that they themselves once had to learn for the first time long before. If you stick with it, and you continue to grow, even those of you who are young in faith will one day be the teachers yourselves – as what once stood as a great challenge will become second nature in your walk with Christ. Thanks be to God that we do not have to go through this spiritual walk alone – we have each other. So my friends, regardless of whether you’re a seasoned pro, or just starting your journey of faith – let us be certain that no matter our level of maturity, that we walk hand in hand together as brothers and sisters in Christ. 

This has been the Set Your Mind Above Podcast, season 5 episode 32 – and I’m so thankful that we had this time to grow together! A new episode is dropped each Friday, so be sure to tune in next week.  Also, if you’re able to, go ahead and like and subscribe to the podcast, give us a good rating or most importantly share it with someone else – it would help to reach others that I never could alone.  And more than anything, always remember the following: know that I love you, that God loves you, and may we all each and every day set our minds above.