My Ragdoll cat idolizes my 8
year-old Golden Retriever.
She plays fetch, she carries toys around in her mouth,
she gets very upset when we don't let her eat dog food, and she begs to be with
the dog at all times. She also runs to meet us at the door, walks on a leash,
and licks our faces. Everything she sees the dog doing!
In the house, she is constantly trying to play with
the dog. She pounces on her, plays with her tail, hides between her feet and
bats at her ears, and she hides - anywhere - and jumps out at the dog when least
expected.
Her worst time of day is when the dog goes outside to
do her business. On more than one occasion the cat has slipped out between our
feet, even in the snow, to run after her "idol".
It's quite comical to watch!
Or it would be, except for one tiny problem:
The dog doesn't reciprocate the cat's affections!
It's not that the dog despises the cat. She's very
gentle with her and I never have to worry about leaving the two together. But
the dog doesn't idolize the cat in return. Rather, she tolerates her presence
with standoffish disdain.
As I was watching them the other day it occurred to me
that we could learn some important lessons from these two creatures. You see,
most of us see God in much the same light as my dog sees my cat. We know we need
Him, so we do our duty. We go to church. We pay our tithe. We volunteer with the
kids' programs. But our heart isn't in it. It's more like we are tolerating God
with standoffish disdain.
Wouldn't it be so much better if we saw God that way
my cat sees the dog? If we idolized Him? If we did everything in our power to be
like Him? If not being in His presence is the most upsetting thing of the day?
That is what having a relationship with God is all
about, friends! Idolizing Him! Imitating Him! Doing everything in our power to
be with Him!
For you see, that's how God loves us! He longs to be
with us, He longs to help us, He longs for us to love Him the way He loves us!
"I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore with lovingkindness I have
drawn you." (Jer 31:3 NKJV)
So let's take lessons from my pets. Let's stop
treating God the way my dog treats my cat. Instead, let's treat Him the way the
cat treats the dog! Then maybe we will start reflecting Him! "But we all, with
unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being
transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of
the Lord." (2 Cor 3:18 NKJV)
Lyn Chaffart
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