Your family either is a “dog family” or is not a “dog family.” Ours is not. So doesn’t it figure that our son, Ben, has had to “dog sit” twice already this summer?
Just this past week he had to tend to a golden retriever who’s family was on vacation. He had to go over to the house every morning and every evening to let the dog out and make sure it had food and water.
Every time he went over to the house the dog had made a mess on the floor, or had torn up a pillow, or had created havoc of some kind. And every time Ben went over there the dog did its best to make things difficult. All he wanted to do was feed and care for the dog, and the dog jumped on him, ran away, and even tried to bite him.
But that dog would have been lost without Ben. It would be stuck in its own filth.It would be hungry and thirsty. And eventually it would die from all of the above.
We are like the dog. Without a Provider, a Savior, a Sanctifier, we make a mess out of our lives; we live in the filth of our sin; we hurt God with our thoughts and actions; eventually we die in our sin, only to die again a certain and eternal death.
But we have a God who provides for us, saves us through His blood, and gives us the grace to recognize and realize that we are nothing but beggars. With His authority, the authority He has over all creation, Jesus calls on the Father to create in us a new creation, He Himself proclaims and declares the forgiveness of all of our sins, and His Holy Spirit takes our faith that is weak and wobbly and, by His teaching, makes it stout and strong.
There once was a woman who came to Jesus because her daughter was possessed by an evil spirit:
The woman was a Greek, born in Syrian Phoenicia. She begged Jesus to drive the demon out of her daughter. “First let the children eat all they want,” he told her, “for it is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to their dogs.” “Yes, Lord,” she replied, “but even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.” Then he told her, “For such a reply, you may go; the demon has left your daughter.”
It is said that, upon his death, a piece of paper was found in Martin Luther’s pocket. It was his own writing. The last sentence on the page said, “We are all beggars before God.”
There is great grace for beggarly dogs.
How have you seen God’s great grace in your life?
We are definatly a Dog family, and a Cat family, and a Fish family and as of yesterday, the proud new adopted family of a small mouse named Thor (thanks to Amanda). Talk about messes…….:)But tell Ben we do sympathize…….
Good luck with all that! I'll tell Ben…