This happened before I was born, but I heard this story many times from my brother and sister. 

My Daddy had a little bulldog named Tinker.  Daddy used him as a catch dog.  You may not know about catch dogs.  When a cow does not want to go the direction you want her to go, you use a catch dog.  The dog will run-up to the cow’s face and bite its ear or its nose.  Now that the dog has the cow’s attention, the cow is usually motivated to move.  This might sound cruel to some people; these are people who have never been in pen with a cow that wants to charge you.  A good catch dog can save your life.  Daddy loved Tinker. 

It takes a lot of courage to be a catch dog.  You may never have thought about it, but a dog is smaller than a cow.  Imagine yourself charging an elephant, leaping up and biting its ear, knowing the first thing that elephant will do is shake his head.  A good catch dog is brave, has a strong bite, and is a little stupid.   

Daddy was off working cows with some men he did not really know.  They were working a herd of cattle that maybe saw a human being twice a year.  These were not just wild cattle; they were rebellious.  Tinker, the catch dog, got a workout that day.  He kept those cows moving.  More than once, he was slung off by an angry cow; he would get up and go back for more.  All the men were impressed by Tinker’s work. 

At the end of the day, the men Daddy worked with loaded up pretty fast and left.  Daddy stayed around to talk to a couple of fellows he knew and then called for Tinker.  Tinker did not come.  Daddy called and called and then took his horse and rode out to look for him.  Darkness fell, and Daddy never found Tinker.  He drove home, mourning the loss of a good dog. 

About a week later, a friend of Daddy’s called him and told him the fellows he worked cows with were bragging they had stolen Tinker.  Where I come from, stealing a man’s catch dog is serious business.  Daddy found out where the men were staying in an old ranch house.  He and my Uncle Pete went to get Tinker back. 

When they pulled up to the house, Daddy told Uncle Pete to stay in the truck.  He went up to the porch and hollered out he had come for his dog.  Tinker was inside the house and started barking when he heard Daddy’s voice.  Two of the men came out on the porch and told Daddy to leave, they did not have his dog.  All the while, Tinker was yipping and howling in the house.  Daddy said, “That’s my dog barking in the house, bring him out here to me.”  A third man came out of the house, holding a rifle beside his leg (I do not need to watch “Yellowstone;” my family stories are better). 

Daddy sized up the situation and realized the time for talking was past.  Two things you need to know about my Daddy: first, he was big.  In addition to being a cowboy and a State Champion Cowboy, he was also a Florida All-State Football Tackle.  His nickname was “King Kong.”  Get the picture?  The second thing you need to know is my Daddy was fast.  In the forty-yard-dash, my Daddy would come in first every time.  No one could believe someone so big could move so fast.   

Before the situation could deteriorate any further, Daddy charged up the steps, knocked over the first two men, grabbed the rifle from the third and threw it back into the house, ran into the house, and grabbed Tinker.  He passed the three men, all still a little dazed, and started hollering at Uncle Pete, “Start the truck!  Start the truck!”  Daddy threw Tinker in the front seat, climbed in, and Uncle Pete took off.  The passenger door was flapping opening as they headed out.  By this time, the men on the porch had recovered, and the man with the rifle opened fire.  His brain was still jolted; every shot missed.  But Daddy got Tinker back. 

If my Daddy would go to all that trouble, brave a fight and dodge bullets, just to get his dog back, what does it say to you that your Heavenly Father would send his son Jesus to get you back?  Jesus braved the attacks of Satan, the plans of cunning men, and bore the weight of the world to come and rescue you.  When you hear his call, and you respond (just like Tinker barking when he heard Daddy’s voice), he rescues you so he can take you home. 

The story of Daddy and Tinker to me is the story of Christmas.  God loves you and has come to rescue you and take you home.  

Merry Christmas.