A cowboy’s life on the open range is full of dust, sweat, danger and hard work. One of the hardest jobs a cowboy has to do is cattle branding.
The end of a branding iron is heated red-hot in a campfire. Swinging a lasso from horseback, the cowboy ropes a calf and then jumps from his horse and wrestles the calf to the ground. Quickly he yanks rawhide strips from his belt and ties the feet of the calf together. Once the calf is down and tied, the cowboy presses the hot iron against the rump of the calf, leaving a burn mark about the size of a large hand. This mark is permanent and will never disappear from the hide of the animal for the rest of its life. Branding might sound cruel, but cattle have very thick hides, and cowboys are careful not to burn through the skin of the animals they brand.
Brands are necessary, because cattle from different cattle ranches graze together on the open range. The brands give the ranchers a way to identify the rightful owner of the cattle. This is especially important when it is time to round up the cattle and drive them to market.
Cattle branding also discourages cattle theft, which is called “rustling.” It is much harder for a thief to move and sell animals that have a recognized brand. Sometimes shrewd rustlers will change a brand by using what is called a “running iron.” For example, they might steal a steer with a brand like the Bar E, and by using a running iron, change it to a Bar 8. To prevent this unlawful practice, cattlemen keep careful records of honest brands being used on the range.
It makes good, common sense to brand cattle to prevent trouble over ownership rights. Do you know God, the maker of heaven and earth, has ownership rights over you? “Behold, all souls are Mine” (Ezekiel 18:4). He has those rights because He is the Creator who made you and me. However, some rustling has been going on. Each one of us has decided to live like our lives are our own. The motto of our lives might sadly be, “Not God’s will, but my will be done.” It turns out that each one of us is guilty for the rustling of our own souls. We have listened to Satan’s interest in telling us what and what not to do.
Cattle are sort of mindless creatures that don’t care who they belong to as long as their needs are met. They don’t even know when they wander away. This is not true with the souls of sinners. God gave us hearts that are never at rest until we learn to love our Maker, and He wants each of us wanderers to come home. He wants us to realize that we are living sinful lives and that we need Him to set things right. To make a way for sinners to come back to Him, God sent His Son Jesus: “God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). Through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, sinners can come back to God. When we return to Him and admit that we are sinners, He gives each one the gift of eternal life. “By grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9).
When a soul believes on the Lord Jesus, God redeems them, or buys them back from the life of sin and Satan’s hold on them. The price He paid to buy them back was the precious blood of Christ that was shed on Calvary. “In whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins” (Ephesians 1:7). Any who believe in Christ are really His twice. They belong to God by creation and also by redemption.
The world is like an open range where those saved from their sins and those not saved live their lives. God knows which brand they are wearing in their hearts—those redeemed by the blood of His Son Jesus or those wearing Satan’s sinful brand. One day soon He will round up all those who have been redeemed so that they will live forever with Him in heaven. But those who have never repented of their sins and returned to Him will spend eternity in the darkness of hell.
God loves you and wants you to return to Him. Before another day goes by, stop in your tracks and realize your need of God’s redeeming love.
MEMORY VERSE: “By grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast.” Ephesians 2:8-9
ML-01/02/2011