God’s truth is all around us. His grace, mercy, and kindness confront us every second of every day. As the hymn “This Is Our Father’s World” puts it, “This is my Father’s world; He shines in all that’s fair.” Recently, the Lord taught me many important lessons through my almost-one-year-old Labrador retriever, Paws.
We got Paws as a puppy. Puppies can be naughty. Sometimes I give Paws a command to go to his bed, and he’ll just lay down right where he is at. The command is clear. He knows what I want. But he does his own thing. The Lord has used Paws’ disobedience to show me that I’m a lot like Paws. God gives me clear commands. Yet, in light of my stubbornness, I chose to disobey. I’m a lot like my dog.
God has also shown me the importance of patience. Training puppies is a lot of work. If I had a dollar every time I’ve impatiently muttered, “Dumb dog,” I’d be a rich man. I recall during the early days of when we had him, my mom said, “Be patient with him. He’ll learn.” She was right. Paws has matured. He obeys more. I failed to see my need to be patient with him. God is patient with me, so I need to be patient in all areas of life.
Labs are tremendously loyal dogs. Paws is no different. He is always happy to see me. Even if I forget to feed him, he wags his tail when I say his name. How is it that Paws is such a faithful dog? God made Paws this way. Why? To show me His own faithfulness. Paws is faithful because God is faithful.
I share this with you to encourage you to look for God’s truth in your life. God reveals Himself in “all that is fair”—whether through your dog or something else. Pay attention.
Pastor Chance