I of course realize that dogs and people are completely different things. However, I have noticed something about dogs in general, and the dogs I have owned in particular, that is very intriguing.
If the dogs I have had the good fortune of owning were human they would have been the best Christians I had ever met. As I mused about that it occurred to me it would be a tremendously positive thing if those who are called Christians would let themselves ,”Go to the dogs”.
A prime example of that is in the area of forgiveness. Have you ever made a mistake in training, working with, or just relating to your dog? I think it is fair to say that we all have. However, did you notice that your dog did not hold unforgiveness against you? They are normally immediate in their forgiveness even if we do not ask for it. Wouldn’t it be a very powerful and positive experience if we did the same thing? What if the people in our lives were as quick to forgive us when we made mistakes in our relationships with them as our canine friends are? Perhaps more importantly is how nice it would be for us and others if we took the bull by the horns and proactively extended forgiveness to those who have hurt or offended us. No emotionally draining grudge holding or self destructive tendencies keeping us tied in knots as we retain a tab on how others have treated us. Jesus put an interesting spin on this in Mark 11. It states , Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.” Mark 11:23-24 - NIV. I find it remarkable that Jesus clearly indicates one key reason many do not receive answers to their prayers is the retention of unforgiveness in their hearts. If we want to have prayers answered and better relationships perhaps we should let our Christianity go to the dogs and practice a lot more quick forgiveness.
A second great example of this thought is evident when we see out pets at the end of a day. Very often they run, jump, bark, and do everything in their power to express how excited and genuinely happy they are to see us. Wouldn’t it be a great thing of we experienced a similar response from other people? What would it be like if when we saw our coworkers, friends, family, or just acquaintances at church we all expressed an authentic joy and happiness at seeing them? Many people never have a living soul that seems to be glad to see them. No wonder so many people seem depressed! We all want to be appreciated and feel as if we are valued. Our dogs give us that in spades. It doesn’t cost us a dime to do that but it adds value beyond measure to the lives of people. Think how great it would make you feel to have people consistently excited to see you when you walked up.
It would seem that if we would let our Christianity go to the dogs then we would have a much better world with a lot more of God's love and compassion expressed in it. We would also have a witness that attracted people to Jesus as they could see the goodness of God which in turn will lead them to repentance.