the Week of Christ the King / Proper 29 / Ordinary 34
Click here to learn more!
Daily Devotionals
Chip Shots from the Ruff of Life
Some people were made to own a dog. Or should I say have a dog. The concept of ownership never really enters the true dog lover's mind. My brother-in-law, Terry Simpson, is the classic example of a person who is supposed to have a dog. Terry treats a dog with love and respect and, quite truthfully, spoils the living daylights out of them.
The first one I remember is Tootsie. Tootsie was an outside dog but Terry did everything but bring her into the house almost every day. Of course he fed her, but it's the way that Terry treats a dog. He talks to them like they are a part of the family. He carries on conversations with them and they seem to understand him. He genuinely loves them and they, in return, love him. Tootsie died a few years ago and now they have Maggie. Maggie gets to come into the house and eats in the kitchen and sits on the couch. Terry treats her like a queen.
But Maggie is not an inside dog. She runs coons and other game. But Terry sees her as a part of the family. David Warren is like that with his Walker, Daisy. He loves her and she obviously returns that affection. Dogs do that quite readily. They return affection with everything they have. Brandy was like that. Brandy was the little dachshund I wrote about a couple of years ago that I called in German and he came running. Sadly, but mercifully, Brandy was put to sleep at the age of seventeen with a myriad of discomforts making life a bit too tough for him. His family, the Brandenburgs, miss him terribly.
The point is this; love a dog and they will love you back. Treat a dog right and they will shower you with devotion. Give them food, shelter, good strokes and gentle words and they will come at your call and do what you wish them to do. They will obey you without question. Pity we humans can't be the same. Oh, we are with one another for the most part. But how about God? All God wants to do is love His creation and have His creation love Him back. He's even built a beautiful city to put His creation in for eternity.
God chose Israel to love. Sadly, so did Israel. They rejected God as their love and sought others. He sought them back. "Then I will give them a heart to know me, that I am the Lord; and they shall be my people, and I will be their God, for they shall return to me with all their heart." Jeremiah 24:7 Still Israel did not love God as He had wanted. Then He sent Jesus thinking we will love Him if His Son dies for us. Pity we can't love God like a dog. With a dog it's instinct. With us it's desire. So. What is our heart's desire?
'Chip Shots from the Ruff of Life' Copyright 2010 © Tom Kelley. 'Chip Shots from the Ruff of Life' articles may be reproduced in whole under the following provisions: 1) A proper credit must be given to the author at the end of each story, along with their complete bio and a link to https://www.studylight.org/ 2) 'Chip Shots from the Ruff of Life' content may not be arranged or "mirrored" as a competitive online service.
