As I posted a while back, our family took the plunge a couple weeks ago and adopted a dog. Beautiful girl. 1 year old blend of a huskie, collie, and a shepherd (I'm still trying to figure out how she can have three parents). Her name is Chinook. She's what people call a "suck". She just wants to love us and to be loved. She cuddles and sits at our feet. She plays and runs in the yard as if she was made to chase balls and sticks. She makes my kids giggle… which makes her tail wag even more. What's interesting too is that Chinook listens and almost immediately begins practicing the rules. It's as if she somehow inherently knows that following the will of her master is the best thing for her and for her relationship with us.
I wonder sometimes if we, humans, have lost the inherent "knowing" that following the will of our Master is the best thing for us and for our relationship with God. I don't know about you, but I struggle some days to gear my mind to follow after God. I don't always just naturally want to love God and be loved by him- I resist it sometimes actually. I don't cuddle up to God and sit at his feet nearly enough. I don't always wake up and play and run with him as if I were made to. And I certainly don't listen well sometimes… and I definitely take a loooooonnnnnggggg time to start practicing some of the rules.
Calvin might have called this an effect of total depravity. I think I just call it forgetting who we are. We are creations in the image of God… made to follow his pattern.
I can't believe I'm saying this… but I think I have a lot to learn from a dog.
Except for the drinking out of the toilette thing. Still working on that.
Thanks for the comment SM! I was fast asleep when you guys were meeting! But sounds like you did great without me. You probably made it through more than one verse too!
This really reminds me of what we were talking about Thursday morning regarding the supremacy of Christ. It was such a needed reminder that He is in all things and all things are in Him. It takes so much work some days to remind myself that His plan is best and in order for Christ to fully work in my life I need to be completely in Him. It also really lines up with the challenge in Col 3:17 “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him” Most of the time I really have to work at remembering who I am and that if Christ is all that I believe him to be and if he is all that he says he is, I need to let him guide my life and not focus so much on what I want to happen.
Good reminder Ken – thanks! (it’s kind of like you were with us Thursday morning)