Before I share this
story, it is important that I first say something so that no portion of this
blog will be misinterpreted. Unlike many far-eastern doctrines, I do not
believe in reincarnation and I do not subscribe to the possibility that I may
come back as anything other than who I am right now. That said, people have
often told me that if they ever had a chance to “come back as anything,” they
would want to come back as my dog. I’ve always taken that as a compliment; a
recognition that I treat my dog very well. However, it does make you think when
you hear it more than once; it does make you re-evaluate your relationship with
your dog. Is it wrong to let my dog get on the couch and sleep in my bed? Is it
wrong to take my dog with me everywhere I go and to pick him up and carry him
when his feet are cold? I don’t think so. I am my dog’s steward and I want to
be a good steward.
What man in Christ’s
image would not set his newspaper down and take notice when his dog drops his
old broken and chewed-up pull toy at his feet, nudges him, pulls at his pant
leg, and finally stares at him and begins to cry? So it is with God when we lay
our burdens down at His feet and pray to Him with all our heart. Did not you
love your dog before your dog loved you and did not God love you before you
loved Him? Do you not provide all subsistence and every need for your dog and
does not God do the same for you? If you want your dog to love you more than
they do today, you must first love them more. Does not your dog live to be
petted or to hear the words, “good boy” and don’t we live to be acknowledged of
our Father or to hear the words, “well done good and faithful servant?” Is it a
stretch to say that our dogs are in our image when we dress them in cloths,
call them our babies, and treat them like members of our family? I don’t think
so. What dog lover who truly loves their dog would not jump into a frozen river
or in front of a moving car to save their dog? For that matter, what God would
jump in front of the cross to save our eternal life? I can only think of one,
Christ Jesus.
Is it a coincidence
that dog is God spelled backwards, that we look down and see our dog, or that
we look up and see our God? I don’t think so. In many ways, we are to our dogs
as God is to us and our dogs are to us as we are to God. Our relationship with
our dog has much to teach us about God’s relationship with us. He longs to
speak with us and we have to learn to be still and listen. Click Here to listen to Wendy J Francisco's 'GoD And DoG' on YouTube
