Joy or Discipline?

May 17, 2023

Dock jumping is an entertaining sport.

As I watched these tremendously athletic dogs sprint down the dock and jump for their favorite toy, I wondered—do they do this for the fun of it, or are they disciplined? I couldn’t find a definitive answer and wasn’t able to interview any dock jumping dogs to get their point of view. I will say, most of the information I found suggests some dogs simply love all aspects of dock jumping.

The dogs enjoy running. Most dock jumping events involve a 36 to 40-foot dock. The owners and dogs use this dock as their running and jumping platform. The platform is about two feet above the 40-foot pool of water the dog jumps into.

The dogs enjoy retrieving. Dogs will exert a tremendous amount of energy to try to catch that toy before either hit the water.

The dogs enjoy water. Not all dogs are water dogs. But those that are, seem to love jumping and swimming and will spend all day doing it if allowed.

The dogs enjoy time with their owners. Aside from watching the interaction of the dogs and their owners, I don’t know this for sure, but it appears to me that the dogs genuinely enjoy the shared experience of the sport.

I guess a certain part of the sport may come from continued practice and discipline, but I think most of the enjoyment for the dog comes from participating in the event.

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Probably should be no different than our relationship with the Father.

Paul knew being a Christian required discipline. He spent many hours encouraging the church to be disciplined in the Lord. He also knew that a true relationship with the Father would bring great joy.

“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice!” (Philippians 4:4, NASB)

Right after writing these words, Paul reminds the Philippians why they could rejoice. The Lord is near. The peace of God is available.

Friends, we should live our Christian lives in joy. Just as it is natural for some dogs to want to run, jump, retrieve, and swim until they lay exhausted for a long nap. It is natural for those who have been saved by Jesus to enjoy our walk with Him. We pray, read and meditate on Scripture, and serve not only because we know Christ commands and expects it.

We do these things because they bring us joy!

I’d be interested in hearing your thoughts on how much of our Christian living depends on joy versus discipline.

You can learn more about dock jumping here.