A Dog's View of God

Last night at the end of our home Bible study a dog starts barking outside my house. It keeps going. Sounds like a big dog. Why is it still in front of my house? Must not be with people on a walk or the dog would have moved up or down the street.

Finally I get up to see what is going on. I open the screen door since the front door was open. The black lab is 20 feet away and starts barking a lot when she sees me. I think I recognize her from across the street so I call her name, Hollister. Then I call her Holly since the neighbors use both names. She hesitates and stops barking for a couple of seconds and then starts up again.

I am nervous since this is an 80lb black lab with a rough bark [pun intended as always]. I go back through the house and open the garage door putting on some shoes to walk her across the street. If it is Hollister, she is familiar with our garage and where the dog food is kept, so I am hoping this calms her down. Since it is night, I can't see her so I slowly walk around looking for her. She is across the street but still looking and barking at me. Now her bark sounds a little more scared than mean, but I am not comfortable so I watch her closely as I walk to the neighbors darkened front door hoping Hollister won't leap at or bite me. I knock on the door. Nothing. I open the screen door and knock loudly as barking black lab moves very close to me. While I hold the screen door open I look back after knocking to see Hollister timidly approach me. She starts wagging her tail and submissively dropping her posture as she sniffs and licks my shoes and ankle of my pants. Whew! It is Hollister and she does not attack! She is just scared out of her wits--if she has any. I finally calm down. The neighbor opens the door and sees Hollister who runs into the house in panic. Their other dog now comes out of the house with the owner as we talk and try to figure out how Holly got out. After a minute I head home and laugh about the whole thing.

The more I think about it the more I laugh. Hollister was much more scared than I was. All the houses around were dark except mine. She could see inside our front door since we were doing our study in a well lit front room and just so happened to be talking about Jesus calling us to be light in the darkness! Are we letting His light shine through us? Darkness always loses to light. Darkness is emptiness. Light is filling and fulfilling.

So here is this scared puppy [about a year old] barking in terror confused about how to get back home to safety and comfort. She finds the only light she can and asks for help. Took me a while to figure that out. She was so happy once she was at her front door and going back home. Rescue calms fear.

It was a cool illustration for me. It was a good way to be kind to a neighbor.

Then I started thinking about how I am like Holly when I cry out to God and sometimes to god--you know, the false image I have created in my head that is not trusting, good and loving like God is. Do I scare others with my searching to be rescued, when I am really the one who is scared?

We all need rescue, safety, light, comfort and love. Holly's cry is similar to ours. "I know you aren't my God. But you are the only light I see. Please help me get back home!"

How are you like a dog who needs to run to God?