The theme of this month’s magazine is a concept I have not given much thought to; dangerous for good. Those words didn’t really seem to go together until I saw them in a real life situation. I was taking my dogs out to play in an open field where we had been many times before when something totally unexpected happened. I have three adult dogs with me – Monk (Romans 1:16), Prophet (Joshua 24:15), and Bandera (John 8:32). I also had a new female puppy of Bandera’s which had not been named. So let’s call her No Name.
As always, I drove into the field and released the dogs from the vehicle. The three males ran to the left investigating a tall weeded area, and my new puppy and I went off to the right at an angle. There was a long narrow waist high strip of grass which ran out into the open field for about 150 yards. My new puppy friend was just past the tall grass strip when two large aggressive street dogs came from behind the grass and charged straight toward her. They obviously had harm on their minds. Their eyes were filled with hate, and their lips were pulled back exposing dagger like teeth indicating they were ready for a fight. She had no name to call her to me, so she stood tail wagging ready to play with her two new found friends. The smaller faster dog charged full blast into her side knocking her down and backwards at the same time. Surprised, she jumped to her feet only to be met by the slower larger dog which attacked her face and I heard her cry out in pain. This all happened in a long (slow motion) 30 second period of time.
I was running, but I was still over 90 yards away from being able to help her. What happened next revealed a side of my new puppy that I had not seen. My little girl raised her head, planted her feet, flared her baby teeth, and let out a lion’s roar. In her heart the challenge was on, but my heart sank for I could see the great disadvantage she had in age, size, weight, numbers, and she had never seen evil like this before. In her challenge I saw a possible serious injury coming and even death.
What happened next went beyond surprise. Both of the larger hostile males simultaneously jumped backwards, looked at each other and turned running away as if for their lives. My little girl, though scared, staggered forward and even took a few steps in their direction as if to say, “…and never come back.” I even though I saw a suggestion of pride as she turned to come back my way. I was so grateful, but I also had to stop to catch my breath. It was then I first saw him.
Unknown to her, coming behind her back at a death-rate pace of mock two was her father (Bandera), and he was coming with a blind power fueled by the love of a father has for those that as his. He was both magnificent and frightening. There was no fear in his eyes. There was no mercy in his eyes. There was no concern for himself, or pain, or injury, and stopping was not an option. I could only watch as he closed the escaping gap between himself and those that had harmed this helpless puppy. He was moving steel, 102 pounds of high speed raging fury, and he was on a mission. A mission to save the one he loved. He was at that moment in real life, a breathing example of the words “DANGEROUS FOR GOOD.”
I believe every American should have been there. It was not the law that saved her. It was not her willingness to fight that saved her. It was the power of the “dangerous for good” that sent evil fleeing. Darkness can only exist in the absence of light, and the same is true of evil.
We need to all ask ourselves some personal questions:
1. Would we charge in to help others with little regard for ourselves?
2. Would we hold, stand firm and fill in the gap to defend the “Truth” if the others ran?
3. Would the world call us dangerous for good?
4. Are we aware that we have a Father at our back? A Father that has no fear, one willing to charge in with no regard to self. One that loved us enough to die for us, and one that is without a shadow of doubt the ultimate extreme form of dangerous for good?
Don’t let the sun set today, nor the clock hand move again without making sure that you are one of His, and from this day forth, let us all be DANGEROUS FOR GOOD.
