"Cowboys Free"

Across the miles and years he rides,

To chase the bovine, see,

So surprised if he could know,

What his legend came to be.

That we would so admire that life,

They lived on ranges then,

The horseback boys who drove the steers,

Across the trails back when.

A simple time with danger fraught,

For us adventure wild,

With sickness, hunger, thirst and pain,

But heroes to a child.

With full-brimmed hat and flowing scarf,

And spurs hooked to his boots,

The latigo and holstered gun,

Give dreamers cowboy roots.

Who he was and how he lived,

The art and poems show,

But deeper still the ones out there,

Who do that work and know,

That even on our best of days,

Real courage may grow thin,

He was no perfect soul at all,

But we are still his kin.

And when the horse is trotted out,

And cattle made to move,

From rising sun to when it sets,

And all is handled smooth,

We catch it and we gather in,

A page of history,

And know that somehow still we are,

The sons of cowboys free.

“So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed…” (John 8:36 NIV)

We remember and honor the image of the American cowboy and the freedom of his lifestyle. But the Good Book tells us that, in an ultimate sense, real freedom may only be experienced through Jesus Christ. Jesus said that both the truth and the Son would set us free, and He was right. There is no authentic freedom without the application of absolute truth, and Jesus is both the truth and the only begotten Son of the Father, sent to save us. This is the biblical solution for our slavery to sin. We often hear, “Long Live Cowboys.” The cowboy way is awesome! But nothing is better than giving praise to the One who sets us free indeed.

Lord, set us free, in Jesus’ name.

Art by Don Dane, dondane.com. Used by permission. Thanks, Don, and God bless you.