Sunday, January 06, 2008

Seeing God Dog

I recently read the book "The Shack" under the recommendation of my most favorite person in the world. A fictional account of one man's journey to understand and accept the love that the Lord gives us, the book struck a chord deep within. Often we question God's love, especially in the midst of bad occurences, and find ourselves in the position of judging Him. Is that what Christ meant by "...judge not lest ye be judged...?"

At some point I had an epiphany, realizing that it might not be entirely a coincidence that God spelled backwards is dog. Short of our Lord's love, nothing is greater than the love of a dog for his, or her, master. A dog's love is completely unconditional, as close as we will ever come to knowing God's love, and far beyond the limitations and expectations we humans often come to place as a condition of our love for one another.

So by watching a dog, do we come close to seeing God? Or do we just see our own horrible failings. Maybe we should try harder to emulate our canine friends...

1 comment:

Cas said...

The author of "The Shack", William P. Young, said in an interview, "The definition of love is when you arrive to the point of 'What can I do for you?' When you love someone so much that what you want is no longer an issue at all. The only thing that matters is what you can do for the other person."

A dog will still beg to be petted or fed, but they do love you - no matter what. Their love is only limited by the obvious.

What would the world be like if we all loved each other to the point of forgetting ourselves?

The way I love you, Sparky.