By Josh McCarthy / Cowboys of the Cross
“[March] is a busy time of year. Feedlots are full, calving is starting, and the lambing crew is still getting
the jugs ready. Cowboys are still wearing their winter long johns and five-buckle overshoes. It’s too soon
to take the mud and snows off the pickup. The days are getting longer, but nobody knows why. The
horses still have their hairy side out. It’s usually the last month you can stick a tractor up to the axle.
What most people do in March, is look forward to April.” – Baxter Black
If you’re in ranching, it’s the time of year that Baxter Black would call the month of mud. It’s when you
can get the first signs of warmer spring weather that can quickly change to a whiteout snow storm
that’ll take a week to dry out only to do it again. That kind of weather means a lot of mud and usually
doctoring sick calves in the process. One thing I was reminded of tromping through the feedlots the
other day was verses in Hebrews 12.
Hebrews 12:1 “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every
weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,”
Especially the part about weight and sin clinging closely, it reminded me of the mud. Mud sticks to
everything; it’ll suck your boots right off your feet and makes it impossible for man or beast to move
around. It weighs you down and I don’t know anyone in their right mind that would say this time of year
that what we really need is just a little more mud around this place. We know that’s crazy but if you
think about it, that’s how we treat our sin.
When we give into our temptations, that promise fleeting pleasure. It’s like finding that biggest mud hole on the ranch and diving head first into it and loving it instead of what is actually good or helpful for us.
When we desire sin, we don’t see it for the mud hole it is. We believe the lie and see it as the best thing
since sliced bread.
This diving into the mud isn’t just something that happens before we become Christians. This is a struggle
for believers as well. Hebrews is addressing Christians when it says “lay aside every weight, and sin that
clings so closely,” And I’ll be honest, I struggle with this just like anybody else. As I write, I’m reminded of
my sin that clings so closely but praise God, we have a mighty Savior in Jesus Christ that doesn’t leave us
in the mud.
Psalm 40:2 says “He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a
firm place to stand.”
If we are Christians, then Christ saved us from our past, present and future sins. He has given us the
foundation of faith in Christ and the Gospel. He has extended grace to us and loves us enough to not
leave us in the mud of our sin even on days when we want to nose dive right into it.
Hebrews 12:2-3 “2Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him
endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3Consider
Him who endured such hostility from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.”
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