Gone to the Dogs

Recently, there have been many things in my life that have been talking about dogs. Malcolm Gladwell (my favorite author) has a new book out called, "What the Dog Saw", also in a running book I am reading, they mention a dogs desire to run... anytime, anywhere. Lastly, my wife shared with me a very interesting fact about dogs the other day, about how they show interest in us.

Did you know that Dogs are one of the only animals that have in interest in human behavior? It's a very interesting piece of information when you consider all the other animals. If you point at something, your dog will be interested in what your pointing at, and may go over to check it out. My own dogs will search out an entire area if I show interest meanwhile, my cats will just stare at me with a blank face.

While sitting with my tea this morning, I was struck with a new thought on the topic, or combination of topics really. Dogs are a mans best friend, they respect their human owner, without ever being given a reason why. They are forgiving, they are loving, they can defend you, and they could save your life too.

What stuck out to me on this topic, was how the relationship that a dog has with the human, is the same kind of relationship that God wants to have with us. Interesting that Dogs are mans best friend, when Man should have the same feelings to be God's best friend.

Sounds kind of offensive right? After all, we are talking about filthy scavengers that are domesticated.

God created the dog, and I believe that in each creature that He created, He intertwined characteristics of Himself in their personalities. Dogs are forgiving, and care what we do. They always want your attention, I mean, when has a dog ever turned you down to a game of catch, or a walk outside? If you show interest in a dog, in any positive fashion, they will react in want of more attention.

I believe that we can take a lesson from the dogs mentality, and apply it to our own life, that we ought to seek interest in God, that when He calls on us, we should always answer in the affirmative, and that we should care more about His desires for us, than our own. It interests me that God put an animal so close to me, and I have never noticed that these characteristics that I love so much in my animals, happen to be the same that He wants in me.