Those of you who have followed my spiritual and writing journey for the last 6 years know I have written many blogs about dogs.
My dogs have taught me many lessons about my relationship with God. If you love God and have ever loved a dog, you know exactly what I’m talking about. Their simplicity, loyalty, and love. The companionship and comfort they bring. I believe dogs are one of the finest gifts God ever provided to us.
Here’s a new installment, about Tucker, our almost 8-month-old mini Golden Doodle puppy, and how he makes Scripture come to life.
Tucker, if not sound asleep, is always in the mood to play.
Tucker’s favorite game is to steal a slipper and run outside through the doggie door. His idea, as I perceive it, is that I’m supposed to chase him and get it back. But he is way too quick for me to get it back if he doesn’t want me to, and he knows it.
Being well-versed in behavioral psychology, I don’t fall for it. This is not a game that interests me, so I won’t reinforce his behavior by chasing him. Instead, I close the door on him and, because he wants my attention more than he wants the slipper, after a minute he drops the slipper and asks to be let back in.
I trust that as he matures, this behavior will be extinguished, and we can play together in more mutually satisfying ways.
To that end, I bought one of those plastic ball chuckers that allows me to throw a tennis ball a lot farther than I can with my wimpy arm. It’s also very nice that I can use the device to pick up the ball when it’s covered with dirt and saliva. I’d rather not touch the nasty object with my hand.
Tucker is part retriever, so when I chunk the ball, he runs eagerly to fetch it and usually turns to run back to me with the ball in his mouth. Great.
The problem, as with the slipper, is that Tucker won’t give me the ball so I can throw it again. I command him firmly to drop the ball and if he refuses, I put the chucker down and go back inside. Game over.
You’ve probably already anticipated my metaphor.
Often we are ready to receive from God, to engage with him and learn from him. When we submit, we learn day by day how God works, and even how he plays. We learn what interests and pleases him and we strive to engage with him according to his rules.
If we expect to receive and benefit from this wonderful, loving attention from God, we must play his game in the right way. Otherwise we forfeit the satisfaction of fellowship with him.
We can’t take the things of God and use them any way we please. When we are determined to do things our own way, we often shut down the interaction.
Praise God that he is patient (more patient that I am with Tucker). He will keep coaching us and inviting us to spend time with him. But if we repeatedly, metaphorically, refuse to drop the ball at his feet so he can throw it again, the game stops. His mercies are new every morning, so tomorrow we can get another shot at it.
But he doesn’t change the rules to accomodate us. Paul, in one of his letters to Timothy, analogizes athletics to our life in Christ:
“An athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules” (2 Tim. 2:5).
He won’t reinforce naughty, foolish, rebellious, puppy-like behavior. He expects us to learn obedience through practice, discipline, and suffering. (See passage from Hebrews posted below.)
I am training Tucker to be obedient. Why? So we can have a good relationship. So that his affection and his desire to please me override his disobedient impulses.
God wants the same for us. Paul puts it this way to the Romans:
“For your obedience is known to all, so that I rejoice over you, but I want you to be wise as to what is good and innocent as to what is evil.(Rom. 16:19).
To complete the analogy, I want to be able to bring Tucker anywhere and have people note what a wonderful dog I have.
Likewise, God desires that in everything I do, and everywhere I go, I make him and my relationship with him very attractive to anyone who observes it.
Just as Tucker will have the joy of running fast and free to catch and return the ball at my feet, I can fully enjoy whatever work or play we participate in together. And this relationship will go on forever!
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Here’s a related passage worth meditating on:
“And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons?
“My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord,
nor be weary when reproved by him.
For the Lord disciplines the one he loves,
and chastises every son whom he receives.”
It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? 8 If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.”
Hebrews 12:5-11
