God Dog God

If you know me well, you’ve probably heard all of my lines about who and what I love the most.  My favorite wife is my Proverbs “32” wife.  She’s better than any Proverbs 31 woman.  My favorite son or daughter is always the one that I’m with.  My favorite Bible verse is the one that I’ve just read.  My favorite song is the one that I’ve just heard or sang.  My favorite book is the one that I’m reading.  My favorite color is the one that I’m wearing.  My favorite person is the one that I’m with.

My crazy side is always waiting to create connections out of my love for God and people.  As I’m finding common ground with people, you’ll hear me say that it’s a toss-up whether I love God, kids, or dogs more.  The truth is, I love God with my all, and God’s love in me thrills for every opportunity to lavish His love on kids and dogs.

Recently, God answered my prayer and gave me a puppy.  He came with the name “Camper”, and it took us only five minutes to fall in love and get attached.

Camper goes wherever I go, and he’s not okay when we’re apart.  Camper’s longing to be with me is a continual reminder of how God longs for our affection, and He doesn’t want to share our affection with anyone else or with anything else. 

If you’ve ever lost a dog, you know the grief and void that you feel when you are dogless.  Coco was my buddy for over twelve years.  I’ve made friends with everyone else’s dog for the past eight years.  Now I have my own puppy to love and to share with the world.  He’s already had his first day being a therapy pup, and I look forward, when he’s older, to bringing him to work to help hurting kids.  He’s making friends with people all over Ashland, and the new college freshman love Camper because they all miss their dogs that they left at home.

The challenge that we face whenever God gives us what we love is that it can easily take over our lives and compete with our love for God.  If you create a short list of what you love, what would be at the top of your list?  Because I love God and animals so much, I can easily worship what God has created instead of worshiping the Creator.  As soon as I get God and dog backwards, everything goes wrong.  Taking care of a puppy, who chews on everything and wants to “do his business” everywhere except in the back yard, this golden doodle dad frequently gets God and dog backwards.

The first week of having Camper was like the best week of my life.  Camper followed me around wherever I went.  The second week, Camper wants to explore everywhere except where he should be.  Sounds a lot like Christians.  When our faith is new and fresh, all we think about and talk about is Jesus. When our faith gets older, we can easily wander away from our first love and forget about Jesus.  We can get consumed with other things, and before we know it, we’re no longer following Jesus. 

What I love about Jesus is how He goes after us whenever we leave His trail.  He’s the Good Shepherd who leaves the ninety-nine to find us and to get us back on His path again.  He’s like the Hound of Heaven who won’t leave us alone.  Left to ourselves, we self-destruct.  The more we resist God, rebel, and get consumed with something else, the more He comes after us because He loves us.  Some seasons of our rebellion cause great brokenness.  Our independent spirits sometimes wage war for a battle for control.  Only as we repent and surrender our strong wills and independency will we find God’s peace and experience God’s restoration. 

If you’re like me, frequently getting things backwards, I have some good news for you.  God is just a prayer away.  He’s waiting for His kids to say, “I’m sorry.”  He gives us lots of re-dos.  He lavishes His grace and love upon His kids.  He’s for us and not against us.  Why?  Because we’re His kids, and nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ (Romans 8:38).  Maybe that’s why I love God, kids, and dogs so much.  They love so much, and they’re so quick to forgive.  They just want to be with us more than anything else.