Boys and Their Dogs...and the Glory of God

There's something about a boy and his dog. Boys like dogs. And when boys like to hunt, they really like dogs.

My brother has a history of bringing dogs home...and then leaving them for my parents to take care of. He never usually had more than one at a time, and the only reason they stayed at home was because he couldn't take them along to college. Ultimately, what he really wanted was a quality hunting dog.

We always had dogs and cats on the farm growing up, but eventually our dog population died out. In high school, my brother adopted his coach's German shorthair. (That put an end to our cat population.) I can't remember if this was the first dog...but it was one of the many. There was also a cocker spaniel, a couple strays, and finally a Springer Spaniel.

Maverick.

I didn't mind Maverick like I did some of the others. He didn't bite me (like the cocker spaniel) and didn't eat cats (like the German shorthair...of course, by then there were no cats left to eat). He was gentle and friendly and had large amber eyes that would search your own.

Maverick was also a little quircky, which caused my mom to not appreciate him as much. You see, Maverick liked to run.

Nonstop.

All day long.

Seriously.

He never slowed down.

He also looked severely malnourished and scrawny, despite finishing off large bags of dog food in small amounts of time. He ran off everything he ate, and then some. (Despite my best efforts, I have never been able to accomplish this.)

Maverick had a method to his running. He ran the same route around the house.

Nonstop.

All day long.

This is why mom wasn't his number one fan. He ran paths and wore out the grass all over the yard...including the grass in the middle of the front yard right next to her garden.

Crop circles, my brother called them.

Not only did he run ceaselessly, Maverick also barked on occasion. Not at squirrels or rabbits or strange cars.

No, he barked at the sky.

As he ran pell mell around the yard, he would point his furry nose to the sky and bark at nothing at all.

Maverick has since gone on to join doggies of previous lives past (thanks to a run-in with a rabid 'coon), and the grass has grown back in our yard (much to my mom's relief). But he spent his short life doing what he was created to do.

He ran in circles. He barked at the sky. There was no purpose to this, except that he was a dog, and that's what God created him to do.

He ran and he barked for the glory of God. He did what he was created for, and he loved doing it.

All around us nature proclaims the glory of its Creator. Birds fly, cows graze, horses gallop, flowers bloom, clouds rain.

All things were created by Him and for Him. -Colossians 1:16

I, too, was created for the glory of God. But unlike the things of nature, I often forget my purpose.

I forget that I was made for Someone greater.

Knowing Truth

You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? -James 2:20

You know what strikes me as interesting about this verse? Instead of going on to prove his statement, James instead gives examples of faith in action.

Want me to prove it doesn't work? Then let me show you what does.

I wondered why he wouldn't give examples of people whose deedless faith fell flat. After all, that's the offer he put on the table.

But instead, he tells of Abraham's faith and actions working together when he laid Isaac on the alter. Then he mentions Rahab's faith and action of helping the spies before Israel marched around Jericho.

Want me to prove that your faith without deeds is wrong? Here are people whose faith was right.

Why?

Maybe he did it that way because truth stands on its own.

Do you need proof that what you're doing is wrong? Then take a look at what's right.

Kind of like bankers handling money. In order to recognize counterfeit money, they don't spend their time studying the fake stuff. The spend hours studying the real. They look at the details and handle it over and over again until their hands know the feel of the money. Then, when the counterfeit comes along, they are able to recognize it because it doesn't match what's true.

How much more does that apply to us! We should study the Word, strive to put action to our faith, and pray like crazy. We should be so immersed in the Truth that when anything else comes along, we know it right away.

How should we know when something is wrong? Because we know what's right.

Your Mouth Says You Believe. Does Your Life?

I hear it more often than I care to. And it makes my hair stand on end.

"I think as long as you're trying to be a good person, that's good enough."

"Do whatever works for you."

"It doesn't matter what religion you are, as long as you believe in something."

People really truly believe these things. I think one of a few things has happened to convince them they're right (including, but not limited to): 1) They simply have not been taught according to the Bible, 2) they would rather believe something that feels good over what's true, or 3) Christians who make these statements have become lazy.

You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that - and shudder. -James 2:19

James is in the middle of explaining to his audience the importance of walking the walk and not just talking the talk. Then he throws that statement in there. He's addressing Christians who say all the right things, but don't back up their faith by living it out. It's like he's saying to them, "Congratulations. You believe in God. Guess what? Satan himself believes in God, but he's not going to heaven. What seperates your belief from his?"

His statement applies across the board to people of all walks of life.

Belief by itself doesn't get you anywhere.

Believing water exists doesn't make you wet.
Believing money exists doesn't make you rich.
Believing there's food in the fridge doesn't satisfy your hunger.

Believing God exists doesn't get you to heaven.

No, for even Satan believes God exists. Who do you think he's working so hard against? What he refuses to acknowledge is that God is Creator and Ruler of all things, Jesus is His Son, and Jesus bore our sins and conquered death so that all who believe in Him might be saved from hell.

Faith requires action.

To those of us who claim Jesus as our Lord and Savior, what are we doing about it? As Dietrich Bonhoeffer stated in The Cost of Discipleship, grace might be free, but it sure wasn't cheap. We really are getting a pretty good deal. But to sit passively and only live comfortably within our faith...that insults the very thing Jesus did on the cross.

You Can Talk the Talk...

We Christians sure talk the talk, don't we? We have a lingo all our own - words and phrases we throw around that become common talk amongst our Sunday morning conversations. Not to say that we're not sincere by saying them...but I do believe that we don't always think about what we're saying before it leaves our mouths.

One phrase in particular comes to mind.

A person approaches us and begins to share her struggles. (Not even a person at church Sunday mornings. More likely a person we run into during the week, because we Christians also have a hard time being honest about our lives. But that's for another post.) She tells you her burdens. Difficult children. Broken marriage. Lost job. Not enough money to put gas in the car.

We listen politely. And then that phrase.

I'll be praying for you.

Really? If you see this person again next week, will you even remember what she's struggling with? Or will you be able to honestly tell her you've been praying?

Let's up the game a bit. Yeah, so prayer is a good thing. The best thing you can offer anyone. The most powerful tool known to man. But let's not forget the other tools we've also been equipped with.

Why not give her the cash in your wallet so she can buy gas for her car?

Buy a gift card to the local grocery store?

Or a gift card for her and her husband to have dinner together?

Offer to watch the kids?

Mow her yard?

Give away your extra winter coat?

Prepare a meal and take it to the family?

Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? -James 2:15-16

We Christians may talk the talk and make ourselves sound good. But if we don't walk the walk, the person in need has no reason to believe in our God.

"I Can't Do It"

I've narrowed it down to either a full moon or the changing of seasons. Whichever it was, last week it caused people to behave badly. Badly, as in weird, inappropriate, and unnecessary.

I had quite an encounter with one of my nursing home residents on Tuesday. She behaved very badly.

She's been quite the challenge for everyone in general and has "behaviors," as they call it professionally. Basically she doesn't want to do anything for herself.

I'll leave out the details, but Tuesday's treatment boiled down to a battle to see who was more stubborn - her or myself.

I'm not sure who won. I think it was a draw.

Our session ended in a tantrum (her, not me) with her sitting herself down and laying on the bathroom floor. (No, I did not drop her, and no, she was not injured.) This was her way of getting out of doing the work.

Each time I think about her, all I can do is shake my head. It blows my mind how she can possibly think her actions are justified and worth repeating over and over. Now the stubbornnes I understand fully, because I am. But my stubborn actions are appropriate. At least I'm reasonable about when I choose to hold my ground.

...aren't I?

After spending the week recapping the highlights of Tuesday morning, I had a horrible realization. God so gently whispered words to my heart that hit me like a hard punch to the gut. Knocked the wind out of me a little.

How many times do I say "I can't" and lay down on the floor to pretend like I didn't hear His voice?

The Father knows what's best, and my life belongs to Him. When He tells me to do something, it's for reasons that are good. I can trust that the task He gives me is not too difficult, for I can do all things through Him.

But sometimes I don't want to do the work. I don't want to do something that's hard, something that's uncomfortable and challenging. All I can see is the task in front of me and I forget to look ahead to the results He has promised.

I tell Him I can't do it. I quickly change the subject to try to distract Him...or maybe me...so He doesn't have a chance to finish the sentence. Because if I can't hear it, surely He didn't say it. I roll over and close my eyes, convincing myself that if I can't see it, it's not really there.

I don't like knowing that I behave the exact same way as this resident.

I am humbled and thankful that His patience and grace extends much farther than mine.