Like a Dog

Dogs are known for unconditional love. But I'm not going to expound upon that today. Bye!

OK, OK - here's my blog entry for today:

I've been noticing how eager my dog is to please. Unlike dogs in my past, she obeys every command without question. I know she likes to be outside, but I have trouble believing anyone, even a dog, would enjoy being outside in the muggy Houston summers. This morning, for example, the outside temperature is close to 80°F. My dog needed out - so she wouldn't soil the carpet. She went outside and looked happy laying in the grass.

At 5:30, my wife left for work and asked the dog if she wanted to come in. She got up, hung her head and slowly began walking to the door. She had a "not my will but yours" look on her face. (Dogs can do that 'cuz they have eyebrows. Cats don't have eyebrows. They just have a bunch of stuff sticking out of their heads. - Thank you, George Carlin) I just closed the door on her and watched her through the window. She happily returned to her spot in the grass.

I don't want to say that I'm a dog, but I have learned that I'm called to do just that. When I get comfortable, God says, "Clay, come here." I can choose whether or not to go.

Abraham did exactly that when God called him in Genesis 12. But his name wasn't Abraham at that time, it was Abram. God said, "Leave your country, your people and your father's household and go to the land I will show you." -Genesis 12:1, NIV
Abraham had a choice. He could either do what God said, or he could say, "God, I really like it where I am. I don't feel like leaving."

God did have an incentive for him, though:

"I will make you into a great nation
and I will bless you;
I will make your name great,
and you will be a blessing.

I will bless those who bless you,
and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth
will be blessed through you."

- Genesis 12:2-3, NIV
Abram followed God's instructions. He made some mistakes, but he pretty much did as God commanded. He left his father's family in Haran and went to Canaan. Life was pretty good, but Abram didn't trust God fully. He still tried to do some things on his own. That's when things got messed up.

We do the same thing. We try to follow God on our terms. Problem is, that's not part of the deal. When we abandon our dreams and goals in favor of God's goals for us, we begin to see true blessings. Sometimes it takes discipline to deny yourself so you can reap the blessings. Jesus put it this way:

I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.

- John 12:24-26, NIV (emphasis mine)
OK, so we have to die? "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." - Galatians 2:20 Yes, we do. We have to die to our own desires. We have to die to our personal dreams. We have to see God's dreams and goals realized.

Here's a kicker to that. I'm not a disciplined person. So, how did I learn about God's blessings? Picture a man clinging to the mast of a ship high above a stormy, shark-filled sea. There are legs to support this mast. One by one, the waves of the sea knock the legs from the mast and the man falls into the sea. But, when he falls, he finds that the sea will buoy him up and keep him away from the sharks. The sea gently carries him to shore.

Life is a lot like that. Technology, my job, physical comfort and a tummy full of chicken-fried steak (one dish I haven't figured out how to make) were the legs of my mast when I dedicated my life to Christ. When I became saved, I told God to take my life and make it into something that will please Him. He immediately began tearing my life down so He could rebuild it. He knocked each of those legs from my mast so that I could come to rely on Him completely.

So, it doesn't always take discipline. If God wants you, He'll come and get you. If you won't bend your knees, He'll bend them for you. Having lost all of my comforts, I cried out to Him. I begged Him to return me to the life I found so comfortable. As Natalie Grant put it so poignantly,

This is what it means to be held.
How it feels when the sacred is torn from your life
And you survive.
This is what it is to be loved.
And to know that the promise was
When everything fell we’d be held.

- Held by Natalie Grant
No, God didn't promise us a happy life with all the riches of Solomon. (Read Ecclesiastes. Solomon wasn't happy!) He did, however, promise us a joy-filled life with all the riches of God. His riches are far different from gold and silk which thieves steal and moths destroy. God's riches are joy, peace and love. Without those, what good is life?

Like my dog, we need to be willing to give up our comfortable spot in life and go where God has sent us. Like my dog, we need to come when we are called.