Spending some quality time curled up at the Master's feet
I was thinking the other day about dogs, us and God. Some people only consider a dog good if it can hunt, guard or lead the blind or disabled. But, the vast majority of dogs (and to a certain extent cats also) are nothing more than companions. In fact, these creatures which were once called pets and now called companion animals.
Our dog Sheba is a classic example of a companion animal. She basically does nothing to earn her keep except love us and be there for us. The truth of the matter is that she is around here to provide company, companionship and unconditional love. If she does anything else, that is just a bonus.
Sheba's day (on the days my wife works) consists of getting up at 4:30, going outside for 2 minutes and then coming back in to jump in the van to take mom to work. As far as I know, she sleeps for the hour we are driving.
Upon getting home she gets her breakfast and immediately goes to sleep under my desk. Other than a few moans and groans due to her age, I rarely know she is there unless I have nowhere for my feet.
Somewhere around 1:30 or 2:00 she goes outside in preparation for the drive in to pick up mom from work. Upon returning home she then takes a nap with mom until dinner time. After dinner, she gets up on the couch and watches us watch our one hour of recorded television at which time she receives her daily dose of "lovings" as we call it. We shower her with pets until she breaks out in happy pants of pure contentment.
After this she goes outside again and comes in to lick the can she had for dinner. She then gets under the desk and sleeps until it is time to go outside one last time before bed. She then gets up on the bed for awhile and ends up under the desk until it is time to start the day all over again.
Her two jobs in life are to bark at any animals when she goes outside and to guard the van whenever I must get out to do errands etc. She takes great pride in scaring away anyone who gets near the van.
I tell you this story because in many respects I think Sheba represents what God wants from us. All our running to and fro trying to prove to everyone how righteous we are doesn't impress God. All our good works done with haughty arrogance don't impress God in the least. All our time spent tugging on God's sleeve demanding He see all the neat and cool things we have done or built don't really impress Him.
What does impress Him then? I believe it is our faithful companionship. I believe it is the times we curl up at His feet and keep them warm. I believe it is the times we are there for Him to love on us. I believe it is the time we spend simply being there with our God.
There is nothing wrong with doing great and wonderful things on behalf of God, but not to impress Him. There is nothing wrong with giving Him all the love and praise in our hearts, but not to prove how good of a person we are. There is nothing wrong with tugging on His sleeve, but not for attention. What is right is to desire to simply be there in our Father's presence basking in His love. That blesses us more than anything and it brings a great big smile to our Father's heart.
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Author: blessings2you
Location: Warrenton Missouri USA
Gender: Male
Age: 57
Blog Entries: 828 (archive)
Blog Comments: 1357
god called me to serve him when i was 16 years old while on a church work trip in new mexico in 1969. in the 40 years since; i attended bible school/leadership training, been ordained to the christian ministry and worked full time for a non-denominational ministry for nearly ten...
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in 1969 god stepped in and transformed my life as a sixteen year old teenager. after a couple of years of intense emotional ups and downs, i decided i needed a firm foundation in my life that went beyond emotional experiences. it was the decision to become involved with a...
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She can just be a full time companion and the other can only be a companion when she is not officially working. But believe you me! There is so much love and dedication from them both that they would lay at your feet constantly if they could get away with it! Why are well trained animals like that? Why are most dedicated, well cared for pets like that? 