"Brand"

Years ago my Dad explained,

The reason for our brand,

The smoking sear on many a steer,

We turned out cross our land.

The big M and the little c,

Under it so clear,

Showed whose they were, and might deter,

And give a rustler fear.

I thought that when he said it,

We lived like olden times,

The cowboy way from day to day,

To stop an outlaw’s crimes.

And once it really happened,

To Texas sent a load,

But it was stole, and no one told,

Though Texas Rangers showed.

Now our brand’s in Texas,

The running old M-C,

And with our bull, a pasture full,

Of calves we hope to see.

That brand displayed so all will know,

To whom they now belong,

Our pasture there, we watch with care,

Those longhorns long and strong.

And I think of how God owns us,

And paid for us the price,

Of Jesus’ blood, the crimson flood,

To cleanse our every vice.

We wear His brand of ownership,

And gladly say we’re His,

The thief may come, we make him run,

‘Cause God’s Word tells us this.

“For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And it was not paid with mere gold and silver, which lose their value. It was the precious blood of Christ…” (1 Peter 1:18-19, NLT)

We belong to the Lord, first because He is our Creator. But we also belong to Him because He bought us back from the clutches of sinful living. This was done when Jesus shed His blood on the cross. How does one determine the value of something? From a material point of view, value is determined by what someone is willing to pay for it, whether real estate or a vehicle or livestock or whatever. Our value is determined by what was paid for us. And what was that again? It was Jesus’ blood, shed on the cross, that ransomed our rescue. We belong to God and should ride for His brand everyday.

Lord, help us recognize and cooperate with Your ownership, in Jesus’ name.

Photo by John Langmore. Used by permission. Thanks, John, and God bless you.