Shade Tree Wisdom 1/26/12

          Nice and brisk for the morning walk, so I walked briskly instead of just strolling along.

          “Cowboys are said to ride for the brand.  It is hard to say “I am riding for an ear tag.”  And yet the USDA insists on an electronic ear tag for any cattle for the foreign market or sold across state lines.  Japan, for instance, will not buy any cattle unless the meat is proved safe and “traceable” before entering the country.  And an electronic ear tag will make such identifying simple.

          After the Civil War, Texas was overrun with longhorn steers, and many an enterprising person rounded them up and made a drive to the railheads in Ft. Dodge or Leavenworth, Kansas, for suddenly the meat was something the folks in the East wanted, and cattle became a commodity.  How to mark your ownership?  In 1541 a Spanish conquistador, Herman Cortes, used three crosses burned on the hide of his cattle.

          Branding was the best way to quickly see who the steer belonged to, and brands such as the flying w or the lazy r became well known names.  So a rancher could more quickly and easily identify what he owned.

          All the naming brought to mind the Christian.  For we are not alone, for “I am the Good Shepherd, and I know my Sheep, and am known of mine”. John 10,14.

          So how do we become God’s sheep whom He calls by name?  St. Paul explains in Titus 3, 5-7: “He saved us through the washing and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he pored out on us generously through Jesus Christ, our Savior, so that, having been justified by His grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.”   And to the Galatians Paul wrote, “All of you who were baptized into Christ, have put on Christ.” Gal. 3,27.

          The hymn sung at many baptismal services runs like this:
              “Baptized into Thy Name most holy,
               O Father, Son, and holy Ghost.
               I claim a place, though weak and lowly,
               Among your saints, your chosen host.
               Buried with Christ and dead to sin,
               Your Spirit now shall live within”. LSB 590,1

          That is a comforting truth to cherish, is it not?

GPD 1/26/12