Lessons From A Dog

Yesterday on the way home from the office, I heard a pastor use one of the clearest illustrations I have ever heard of the relationship we should desire with our Lord. He shared how he has a dog that clearly sees his wife as "lord" of its life. For example, he shared how the dog will wait for his wife to feed it before it will eat and how it will wait for his wife to let it out before it goes outside. He was relating the attitude of this dog to what our attitude towards God should be - that everything we do should be done because God guides us towards it, not someone or something else. I'm paraphrasing - he said it much more eloquently, but I was already late for dinner and wasn't completely concentrating.

I took this a step further the more I thought about it. What if our desire was to only do that which He asks us to do? What if instead of going out on our own, we waited on God to open the door for us? What if instead of eating junk food to ease our hunger, we waited on the feast that He is preparing for us? What if I were more like Abby (our dog) who will put up with me but jumps and dances around the house when she hears Jill's car pull in the driveway? What if I were to run towards those things God desires for me, the way Abby bounds off the steps and across the yard to greet her "master?"

I often make fun of Abby and the way she follows Jill. I get frustrated when she barks too much. I get irritated with her because she goes outside and rolls in something and smells for days. I laugh at how skittish she can be about anything that startles her. And yet.....somehow it makes sense that I should desire to be that way in my walk. I should follow God even when people make fun of me. I should "bark" the gospel to warn those who are lost of the danger ahead. I shouldn't worry if people are irritated because I don't "smell" the way they think I should smell. And, yes, I should even be skittish about those things that startle me and understand that those feelings are God's warnings to me.

I never thought I could learn so much from a dog! God always surprises us doesn't He?