Riding for the brand

Remember when you were a kid dreaming about what you wanted to be when you grew up? Astronaut. princess, firefighter, cowboy. Living in the Colorado Rockies, I see a lot more cowboys than princesses. Cowboys do a dangerous job and they stand for something.

Code of the West

Live each day with courage.
Take pride in your work.
Always finish what you start.
Do what has to be done.
Be tough, but fair.
When you make a promise, keep it.
Ride for the brand.
Talk less and say more.
Remember that some things aren’t for sale.
Know where to draw the line.

Ride for the brand. What does that mean? Displaying proper loyalty to those who have gone out of their way to look after them. An example would be the way a cowboy wouldn’t go work for another ranch, because he’d been riding for the brand for twenty years. Each ranch files for a brand that they use to mark their cattle.

I know for a fact that Jesus has gone out of His way to look after me. I consider it an honor to ride for his brand. I don’t want to work/live for anyone else but Him.

Also, when you add an -ian or -an to the end of a word, it shows belonging to a group, place, or one born in or living in. For example, an American is a person who lives in America. Similarly, “It was in Antioch that the disciples were for the first time called Christian.” (Acts 11:26b [MSG]) Therefore, a Christian is a person who belongs to Christ, one who is born in Christ, and one who is living in Christ.

So we need to allow Him to help us become more like Him. “Nothing between us and God, our faces shining with the brightness of his face. And so we are transfigured much like the Messiah, our lives gradually becoming brighter and more beautiful as God enters our lives and we become like him.” (2 Cor. 3:18 [NIV])

How do we do that? We need to cowboy up. Or in other words, toughen up, get back on your horse, don’t back down, don’t give up, and do the best with the hand you’re dealt.

“There’s more to come: We continue to shout our praise even when we’re hemmed in with troubles, because we know how troubles can develop passionate patience in us, and how that patience in turn forges the tempered steel of virtue, keeping us alert for whatever God will do next. In alert expectancy such as this, we’re never left feeling shortchanged. Quite the contrary—we can’t round up enough containers to hold everything God generously pours into our lives through the Holy Spirit.” (Rom. 5:3-5 [MSG])

“Anyone who meets a testing challenge head-on and manages to stick it out is mighty fortunate. For such a persons loyally in love with God, the reward is life and more life.” (James 1:12 [MSG])

Sounds like riding for the brand to me.

In researching this post, I came across the Creed of the Lone Ranger and had to share it here.

“I believe that to have a friend, a man must be one. That all men are created equal and that everyone has within himself the power to make this a better world. That God put the firewood there, but that every man must gather and light it himself. In being prepared physically, mentally, and morally to fight when necessary for that which is right. That a man should make the most of what equipment he has. That ‘this government, of the people, by the people, and for the people,’ shall live always. That men should try to live by the rule of what is best for the greatest number. That sooner or later…somewhere…somehow…we must settle with this world and make payment for what we have taken. That all things change, but the truth, and the truth alone lives on forever. I believe in my Creator, my country, and my fellow man.”

My mom told me I could be anything I wanted when I grew up. So I’m going to be a cowboy princess for Jesus! Because I choose to ride for the brand and I’m a daughter of the King!

So saddle up and join me riding for the brand!