I have heard all through my life that men are dogs. I have seen many times when some men seem to
confirm this notion. Some people may disagree with this, but my concern is not
only with men but also with mankind. As the saying goes, dogs are man’s best
friend. I want to be God’s best friend. I
want to be what God wants me to be. This may be strange, but I learned a few
things about mankind’s relationship with God by watching my old dog's
relationship with me. Her name was Zephyr.
When my family and I went to buy our new puppy, she was only
eight weeks old. We saw the puppies
playing next to the mother. As we were deciding which puppy we wanted, my
eleven-month-old son grabbed this one small puppy by the tail. It did not bark,
cry or try to run back to its mother. Instead, it sat in my wife’s lap, and if
taken away would keep coming back to sit on her lap.
When Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Peter and
Andrew and said, “Come, Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” It
says, “at once they left their nets and followed him.”
The same way my dog left its mother and Andrew and Peter left
their way of living, is the same way that
we need to follow Jesus. He has called us to follow Him. We are not to moan and
complain along the way. John
1:11-12 He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive
him. Yet to all who received him, to
those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God. When
the Holy Spirit led us to Jesus, we had to make a decision to follow Him. When
we believed on Jesus, we became children of God. We are to realize that we have
a new family and not look back to the past but look to the hope of the future.
My family and I picked this puppy as our own. We had to give
it a name. We gave her the name Zephyr and her
name was never changed.
When we put our trust in Jesus and make Him our Lord, we
receive a new name. He gives us His name. We receive our identity from Him. I
am no longer Larry, son of Richard. I am now Larry, a child of God. I am a
Christian. When people see you, they will also see Christ. Be proud to
wear the name, Christian. Be the
representative of Christ that you are called you to be. 1Thessalonians 2:10-12 You are witnesses, and God also, how devoutly
and justly and blamelessly we behaved ourselves among you who believe; as you
know how we exhorted, and comforted, and charged every one of you, as a father
does his own children, that you would walk worthy of God who calls you into His
own kingdom and glory.
Zephyr was a puppy with a lot of energy. She was playful and
could not relax. She was still the same for all fifteen years of her life.
When we first receive our salvation, we want to tell
everybody about what has happened. We
will tell family, friends, and strangers
about this life changing experience. We go to Bible studies and church
services. We may have even gone witnessing in the streets or on our jobs. Over
the years, we may have won a few or many to the Lord, but our energy is not at
the same level. We want to let others do the work. We get so busy with other
things that we forget what we should be doing. Romans 12:11-13 Never be
lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in
hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with God's people who
are in need. Practice hospitality. The verses following these continue
with more ideas that are practical. We need to keep the zeal, energy, and joy for the things of God. Do not
shrink back. Finish the race the same way you started it. Go wire to wire for
God.
Zephyr had blind loyalty to me. She will follow me anywhere,
even when I am not going anywhere. If I
stand up, she stands up; if I walk to the kitchen, she follows. If I go to the
restroom, she comes and lies at my feet. I tried an experiment with her one
time. I was watching television and at the commercial break, I stood up and
walked backward and forward across the living room about 20 times or more. She
never stopped following me.
When we accepted Jesus’
invitation to follow Him, our journey did not end. Throughout the rest of our
lives, testing and trials of our commitment to Him will come. Salvation is not the end of the road. It is
the beginning. We need to say yes to the
Lord no matter what he is asking us to do or say. It takes a walk of faith to
do this, but we are supposed to live by faith. John tells Gaius in 3 John
1:3-4 It gave me great joy to have some brothers come and tell about your
faithfulness to the truth and how you continue to walk in the truth. I have no
greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth. God
wants to tell us the same thing. He wants to know that no matter what He has
told us to do we will obey. If He brings us to places that we may or may not
like, we will go. If He wants us to stay where we are, we will stay. God wants us to trust Him with all of our hearts, not just a part of it. When I meet Him,
I want him to say, “Well done.”
Zephyr went through a
bad time for a while. She quit eating. She just laid there. We thought she was
about to die. One day, my wife and I had gone to the pet store to buy some
fish. While waiting for someone to help us, we spotted a dog for sale. It was a
miniature Border collie mix. Since Zephyr, weighing over 45 pounds and was too
big to be a lap dog, we decided to buy this smaller dog and bring it home. What
we did not realize, is that bringing a new dog into the home was the best thing
for Zephyr. She started eating again. She started playing with the puppy, Layla.
Zephyr came to life.
Sometimes people get the idea that they can go through this
life all by themselves. We cannot. We
need encouragement from our brothers and sisters in Christ. When we are down,
we need someone to pick us up. When others are down, we need to pick them up.
We are one body that needs each other to function properly. Hebrews 10:25 Let us not give up
meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one
another-- and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
Zephyr was a great and loyal dog. Some may call me a dog, but
I want to be God’s best friend. Proverbs 18:24 A man of many companions
may come to ruin, but there is a friend
who sticks closer than a brother.
