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1 Corinthians 13:7-8a,13 – Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends. So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love. (ESV)
Daisy, our West Highland Terrier, is now a year old. She amazes us by loving us, never growling in fear, even after being taken to the vet for an operation, and barking only to call us to play or to let her outside.
Having had her spayed, I felt concerned about taking her back to the vet's practice after the operation, thinking that any dog would know that this place is where her inner physical pain and stitches originated. Not a bit of it! She loved everyone just as if they had all given her a treat.
Daisy loves meeting people and receiving attention. She puts me to shame because I wish I were so open and trusting, but the years of life's experience have had its toll on my trust issues.
Daisy is getting better at listening — unless there is the chance of chasing a ball or bird, or barking at a cat. It occurs to me that we can be like that: having selective hearing in some areas of our lives, or just ignoring God's direction because something more exciting, tempting, or tasty distracts our focus from His voice.
Somehow, I sense that God is in all this, showing me what real devotion looks like from the other side of giving. It is a two-way relationship. I aspire to love God with such devotion as Daisy gives to us, and it puts me to shame when I think about my self-interested love for God, but I am learning.
When I let her off the lead, she seems to have a knack of finding seed-burrs that I have to pull out of her fur. I pulled out four from the fur on the end of her nose recently. It must have hurt, even as careful as I was in the process, but grudgingly, she let me. She is so like me in my relationship with God.
I wonder what things that you and I get caught up in seeking out, carrying away seeds of the world and/or the evil one.
I often ask God what loving Him looks like in reality and practice. He showed us the love on His side, dying on the cross, and He gave us the Bible to seek out His nature found therein.
Maybe there are some pointers from Daisy that we can take away from today. Let us ask ourselves where our help comes from and why we come to God. What is the basis of this relationship? His love is eternal.
Prayer: Lord, thank You for loving us. You are the defender of the weak and the hurting. Help us to have more trust in Your unending grace and love so that we can allow You — even though it may hurt — to pull out the burrs that life has seeded and that we carry on the end of our noses. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen.
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Great analogies, Rod.
Delightful. Thank you. Makes me love my dog, my best friend, even more.
Thank you. Much to think about. Lessons from Daisy were well expressed and relative to help on my journey.
Remember: Dog is God backwards.
Have a great day. And thanks for your ongoing encouragement for us all.
Thank you for sharing this encouraging and humorous devotional with us.
Imagine! Oh ouch! Burrs stuck on our noses! Blessings.
Nothing like a marvellous creator to teach us more about our marvellous God, Rod.
Blessings.
Thank you, Rod, for sharing Daisy with us. I agree: I can learn from her, too. Good points.
Blessings.
Everyone needs a Daisy … our “Daisy” is a 12-year-old Red Fox Labrador retriever, her love is unconditional and in a group of people she senses anyone who is stressed and will go to that person. I enjoyed your devotional.
Thanks, Rod, for another of your special writings. You have written a great analogy of Daisy’s actions and how we should show devotion and constant interaction with our Lord and Saviour. Blessings for this very thoughtful devotional.
Good morning, Rod,
Such good words of truth this morning. Whenever I see one of your devotionals it always reminds me of the few years we lived in the UK.
Blessings.
Jesus also asked us to be wily as serpents but gentle as doves. Perhaps with wisdom and understanding we perceive beyond the obvious in life to understand it at a deeper level than that which a dog experiences life. I miss my 4-legged companion each day but am so glad I met her along the way. She, like yours, taught me much about how to live and love.
Good morning, Rod,
I am glad that Daisy is learning and so are you. We can all use pointers to help us along our faith journey and receiving them in a humorous way adds to the lesson.
May you and Daisy continue your faith journey together with the burrs and all. Blessings.
Thanks, Rod, for a delightful inspiration. Dogs, with their loyalty and forgiveness, certainly can teach us a lot.
SHALOM and Greetings,
Once again, a very interesting and educational Devotional.
I always find your writing to be inspirational and educational!
Paragraph 5 is especially important, because it brings to the fore some of the major reasons that out Churches, and in many cases, faith in God, are being pushed to the back corners of many people’s lives.
Hearing is a “sense”, listening is a “skill”, which many people have not yet learned.
Christopher Plumber, the great actor, was once asked by a reporter:
“If you were given the choice of being the “good guy” or the “bad guy” in a play, which role would you choose?” Christopher quickly replied: “Oh, the “bad guy”, of course!”. The reporter asked “Why?”. Christopher replied: “Because the Devil is a lot more fun than God!”
Most people today are far more interested in personal pleasure than they are in a worthy and worthwhile experience in life! I wonder how long Jehovah will tolerate this?
Yours in the service of Christ and His Kingdom.
(Ontario, Canada)