I came to an uncomfortable conclusion very early this morning when my dog woke me up. My dog worships me. Just look at the evidence. When I am sitting at the computer he lies my my feet, making sure I don't go anywhere without him knowing. He follows me everywhere I go. I go the kitchen and he is on my heels. I go to the bathroom and he comes in looking for me. I grab his leash and he heads for the door, ready to follow wherever I will lead him. The neighbors have told me that when I am gone they hear him howling in distress, uncertain what to do without me. Sometimes when I leave he pouts the entire time I am gone, howling and laying on the bed starring out the window, waiting for my return. I just have to face the facts. Conner the Dog worships me, unworthy as I am.
And the more I thought about it, the more I realized what a great example of true worship it is! I want to feel that way about Jesus every single day. I want to long to know where he will take me next. I want to follow him everywhere he wants to lead me. I want to feel the need to be in his presence so strongly that when I feel like I have wandered away (because if we feel separated from God, it is us who moved) I howl with grief, hoping he will hear my cries and come rescue me yet again. I want to be constantly vigilant, following him in the here and now and waiting for the glory of his return. This is what true worship is- giving ourselves completely to the One we worship. I want to be like that. Jesus invites us all, with all of our faults and failures and blemishes, to come follow him. It is a come just as we are invitation, but it comes with a price- that we take up our cross and follow him no matter what. I realize now that Conner is not only a faithful dog, he is a walking object lesson. I want to need Jesus so bad that is hurts. LORD, I want to howl for you. That is my prayer today. And as long as I'm praying, I wouldn't mind if Conner wanted to sleep all night tonight. It's the little things...
Because of Jesus,
We had to put our beloved lab, Abbey, down on Tuesday and I've been thinking many of these very same thoughts! Our pets can be some of the best examples of Christ-like love going. They love us dearly and unconditionally. No strings attached. No hidden agendas/ulterior motives. No games. Just love. Didn't matter what the world said about me, my dog thought I was the greatest! Didn't matter what kind of an awful day I was having...I could be (and have been) literally in tears on the couch, and Abbey would just sit right at my legs, tail wagging a mile a minute, plop her head on my thigh and just look up at me like "Dad, it's all good...I love ya!" No guilt trips. No lectures. No skepticism or judgments that what I'm upset about may be my fault! Many of us could stand to be more like our dogs.
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