Photo ©2024 by Chelsea Jurgensen
Commentary ©2024by Russell Jurgensen
It’s not certain how this horse got hold of a carrot stick. Maybe the horse thought it was her turn to take control of the training for a while. She seems to have a playful look in her eye. As my daughter Chelsea explained it to me, a carrot stick is an extension of your arm so that you can transform your tall body into a long body like a horse and be able to communicate with horse body language more effectively. The string on the end can even act like a horse’s swishing tail. It is never used as a whip and is only used to touch a horse when trying to desensitize it to touch.
It makes me think about the golden rule.
So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.
Matthew 7:12
Just like this horse took the initiative to get the carrot stick, does it take some extra effort on our part to do things for others that we would like them to do for us? I can remember times I went out of my way to be nice and when the person didn’t recognize it, I got mad. So, I don’t think the rule is intended as a way to get other people to appreciate us or do nice things for us. It seems that real love does not expect anything in return.
While this horse may be wondering how it can use the carrot stick as an extension of its body, we can ponder our part in taking initiative to do good things for others.