THE BACKGROUND
Two ranchers went to court over an important matter. The first rancher claimed that he
was owner of a registered ... pure bred horse.
There was only one problem. He had not seen this horse for 10 years. It seems that the
horse had a mind of his own, had jumped the fence and run away.
The other rancher claimed that the horse was his. He had branded it with his mark. And
the horse had grazed in his pasture, slept in his stable and eaten his feed for those 10
years. 'He claimed that 'possession was nine-tenths of the law' . . . and he was currently
in possession of the horse.
THE DECISION
The court decided that both parties had a legal claim on the horse . . . therefore, the
horse would be put up for public auction ... and the payment price would be applied to the
second rancher's demand that he be paid for 10 years of feed and stable care.
THE DEMAND
It was apparent that the second rancher had not taken good care of the horse. It was
clearly a malnourished, run-down and otherwise abused horse. But, the rancher still
demanded that he be paid at least $100 a year for the 10 years it was in his pasture.
The court awarded that to be a fair price ... and that the horse could not be sold for
less than $1,000. If there was no buyer for the horse . then it would become the permanent
property of the second rancher.
THE AUCTION
And so the auction began. The auctioneer tried his best to brag on the horse and to
talk about the original breeding, etc., etc.
But every rancher there listened to his eyes more than to the auctioneer. There was no
doubt that the horse was absolutely WORTHLESS. I Was there a chance that anyone would even
bid on the horse?
THE MOCKERY
Old man Briarhead was a real cynic. He took one look at the horse and
mockingly hollered out, "YOUR HONOR ... I WILL GIVE YOU FIFTY BUCKS FOR THAT
FINE HORSE!"' Old man Norton had been a rival to rancher Briarhead for years. So ...
he slipped his hand up and said, "Sir ... I'm twice as generous as my skinflint
neighbor here ... and I WILL GIVE YOU ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS for that sorry
thing."
Well ... that set the whole crowd of ranchers off. They laughed and carried on like
they were at a rodeo.
The auctioneer pounded his gavel in anger. "Men," he said, "I want some
serious bidding on this horse now. And no more outbursts from the crowd."
Old Happy Freelander piped up in his squeaky voice, saying, "Give us a serious
horse and we will give you a serious bid."
'That brought the house down again and it took a full five minutes to get the
crowd quiet.
THE FINAL BID
The auctioneer shook his head and motioned for the horse to be taken away.
In the midst of the silence that came over the crowd ... steady voice said, "SIR,
I BID ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS FOR THAT HORSE!
Everyone turned around to see who the crazy man was. It was the first rancher ...
the real owner of the horse. He had bought his own horse back for $1,000.
There was a steady murmur of voices rippling through the crowd as the auctioneer
intoned, "Going once ... going twice...gone ... to the man in the white
shirt." The rancher was last seen ... gently leading his broken down horse out of the
arena.
THE PURCHASE
The horse moved slowly around the corral. He was a beaten ... broken horse that
was for sure. His head constantly hung down as though he knew what a shame and disgrace he
was to his own kind.
What had this rancher bought for $1,000. Yes, he got a $100 horse
... but he got even more than that.
THE TICKS
As the new owner looked his horse over ... he found some big, ugly blood ticks in the
horse's ears.
Who did those ticks belong to? Well . . . of course ... they were his. He had bought
them for $1,000.
You see, the horse didn't want those ticks. He didn't have fingers to pull them out
with. He didn't know how to use tweezers. And so the ugly ticks just kept sucking the life
blood out of him. . . and he couldn't do a thing about it.
But, now the horse could relax. That was not his problem anymore. He had a new owner.
An owner who cared. Those ticks belonged to the man who paid the price. Whether those
ticks were removed or whether they stayed where they were . . . they belonged to the
rancher.
THE WORMS
The rancher fed this horse and fed him and fed him. He fed him more than enough . . .
but the horse remained skinny.
That's when they discovered that the horse had stomach worms. Every time the horse ate
... the worms ate too. They were eating up the feed before it could be turned into
nourishment for the horse.
Who did those worms belong to? Why . . . the rancher of course. He paid $1,000 for
those worms. They were his. They just happened to be packaged in a horse ... a horse that
didn't know how to get rid of worms.
THE INFECTION
As the new owner examined his horse, he discovered a deep, long gash on the right
flank.
That sore had not been tended to at all and now it was oozing with putrid smelling pus.
It was a horrible wound.
The question was, "Who does this infection belong to?" Well, everyone knew it
was in the horse's wound. But, horses don't own antibiotics or needles or medicines of any
kind. And the horse could not take full responsibility for this wound and what should be
done to it.
The obvious answer was: "The rancher had bought this infection for $1,000. It was
his infection. He could do with it whatever he wanted to. He could leave it there and let
it kill the horse or he could treat the wound and get rid of the infection. The infection
belonged to the man who bought it.
THE BROKEN HOOVES
The horse seemed to limp and walk more cautiously than the average horse. And soon . .
. the reason became obvious. The horse's hooves were cracked and broken. They were worn
down so much that the horse was walking on exposed tender parts of his hooves.
My! My! My! I wonder who owns those broken hooves? It's for sure that the horse can't
fix them. So Who is responsible? You're right again. The rancher bought himself some
trouble when he bought this horse ... but since he had paid the price ... the decision was
now his. Would he leave his property 'as is' or would he fix it up?
THE REST
Nobody said anything yet about the dirty matted mane and the wildness that was still in
this horse.
But . . . cleaned and brushed or not, this horse did not belong to himself. Tamed or
untamed... the same is true.
THE CAUSE
How had this horse gotten this way? Why had all this happened?
Well... it was like this. The horse was the 'son of PERFECT STRIDE' a
distinguished horse of great nobility.
Bred into this horse was POWER ... ENERGY... AND THE URGE TO RUN.
But the confinement of the corral and the restrictions of discipline and training had
gone against the grain. This horse wanted to run and be free. Those acres of rolling green
grass in the pasture beckoned day after day.
Finally the time came. The will of the horse won out over the will of the Master. With
one mighty bound. . .. the horse used all of it's energy to leap the corral fence and was
gone ... free as a bird.
That's when he fell into the hands of an evil man. A man who cared not for nobility or
fine purposes for horses. And thus, the horse was daily used and abused in a manner which
gradually began to destroy his will and his strength.
Only at the last moment had he been rescued from certain death and a wasted life.
THE OUTCOME
The new owner took responsibility for all the liabilities which had come to him because
of his horse.
The horse was nursed back to health and lovingly tamed. And then ... gently, yet firmly
... the horse was disciplined and trained.
The horses love for his master caused him to remain in the corral.. .
even when the gate was left open. He had learned his lesson. Trained to race ... this
horse eventually won many a race for his master ... and won back his place of
profitability ... and a good home forever. This is the parable of the 'unprofitable' $100
horse!
THE PARABLE EXPLAINED
The Original Owner is God the Father. We were made in His image and inbred with
nobility. By virtue of creation we are the property of God. Our own rebellious will
took us away from God's care and protection. Our decisions put us in the devil's territory
and thus in his control. The true value of our existence was lost and hidden and wasted.
The devil's claims could only be met by the perfect price. But ... it was a ridiculous
price considering the state of the merchandise. Yet, Christ loved that which was His own
enough to pay that perfect price! We are once again ... THE PROPERTY OF GOD ... because
He bought us back. He bought us like we are. If He wants any changes made ... He alone
knows how to bring them about. He bought our sins when be bought us.. He bought our
weaknesses when He bought us. He bought our infirmities and inferiorities when He bought
us. He bought our uselessness when He bought us. Whether we are good, bad or ugly we are
His! We choose not to leave the safety of the corral ... whether we are healed or
not. We are the property of God, If we do not reject His ownership ... He cannot
disallow His responsibilities. But we rest in this knowledge also:
NO MATTER HOW LONG IT TAKES ... HE CAN SHAPE OUR WILL. NO MATTER HOW DIFFICULT
IT MAY BE ... HE CAN TRAIN US FOR HIS PURPOSES. AND NO MATTER HOW IMPOSSIBLE
IT SEEMS ... WE ARE DESTINED TO BECOME PROFITABLE SERVANTS IN THE
KINGDOM OF GOD. God will over-rule and overturn all the negative effects of our past
rebellions. WE ARE HIS! WE ARE HIS BY CREATION ... BECAUSE OF
CALVARY ... AND BY CONSENT.
