When I think about how loving and gentle GOD is in His correction, Dani and Karli, two rescue dogs I adopted from a shelter many years ago, come to mind. Both were very sweet dogs, in their own unique way and, I loved them both, very, very, much. But, because they were so very different, they usually, required different methods of correction.
Dani (government name Daniel), was a snow white, Maltipoo. Reminiscent of a powderpuff, he was the sweetest dog in the world. Very obedient and as smart as a whip; he followed my commands to the tee: sit; shake my hand; bring me your bowl. . . He was always ready to play, and would try to fetch anything I threw his way. A resourceful hunter and fervent digger, he would often come trotting over to me with a bone, in his mouth, twice his size. Then, keeping a keen eye out for thieves in the midst, he would set out to bury his treasure, as if it were the most precious jewel on earth (I suppose, to him, it was). Even though he was just a teensy-weensy lil’ thing, he was very protective of his people: When he barked, he put his whole body into it; so, don’t even think about starting any trouble. He may have been the smallest dog in the park, but that didn’t keep him from tangling with the big dogs, oftentimes, to my sheer terror (thank God for leash laws).
Even though Dani was “the sweetest dog ever,” as I would later anoint him, he was an imperfect being, and as such, there were times when correction was necessary. Dani, was a gatherer; and, that which is gathered - must be stored. His hunter instinct wasn’t restricted to the outdoors; it sometimes carried over to the inside. Dani would “hunt,” from his own bowl, and often hid his “kill” (puppy chow) in obscure places throughout the house. This was not, necessarily, conducive to pest control. Yet, because I didn’t sense any rebellion in his motivation, punishment was infrequent, and the chosen corrective method was never severe. He would be summons to, what I dubbed, “the bad Dani box,” i.e. a shoe box placed in the corner. When instructed to stand in the box, being obedient, Dani did exactly as commanded. On one occasion, I noticed that he wasn’t moving, upon closer investigation, I discovered that he had literally fallen asleep - in the box - standing up. I couldn’t help but laugh, it was the cutest thing ever. Naturally, my laughter awakened him; so, I picked him up, gave him a big hug n’ kiss and, of course, a treat. That occurrence reminds me of Ephesians 6:13 “. . . after having done all to stand; stand, therefore.” Guess you could say: Dani endured hardship like a good soldier; for which he was greatly rewarded. Dani was, indeed, “All That.”
Karli, on the other hand, was, shall we say, special. If Dani was “All That;” Karli was definitely, “ALL THAT, AND A BAG OF CHIPS,” and she knew it. From the moment we met, I knew she was D-I-F-F-E-R-E-N-T. She was a beautiful, beige and white, Sheltie, “The Quintessential Diva,” and rebellious, to boot. At the shelter, when I wanted to get to know her a little better, I called her over to me. It was as if I had announced, “IT’S OFFERING TIME.” Don’t act like you don’t know what I’m talking about: you know how some of y’all can get. Steve Harvey, bless his heart, did a hilarious skit about this in “The Original Kings of Comedy;” and, as wrong as he was for doing it – it was absolutely true; particularly when comes to the second pass, which is usually for benevolence. Anyway, back to Karli, she sort of sighed, then slowly stood up and sauntered over to the gate where I was standing. She looked me over, sniffed at me, and I guess because she could neither see nor smell a treat, she turned her back and walked away. Then, lifting her rear-end, high in the air, she sat back down, with her back to me. Kinda the way some of us react when we don’t see an instantaneous reward in God’s calling. Because of rebellion, Karli had almost missed out on a whole new life of comfort and reward. But, fortunately, for her, I welcomed it as a challenge to be met. I immediately said, “Oh yeah, you’re coming with me.”
I would often take Karli to the park, to try and teach her to fetch, but, because she was so rebellious (Israelite), she wasn’t having it. No matter how often I threw the toy, she would just stand there. She would look at me, look at the toy, look back at me again, then, defiantly, sit down, as if to say: “I didn’t come here for all that; if you want it back, you better go get it, cause I ain’t fetching nothing.” On the positive side, Karli did keep me in shape. I always got quite the workout with her, because I usually ended up retrieving the toys myself. My relationship with Karli was almost human-like, I referred to her as, “Karli is a people too.” Whenever she misbehaved, she would get very quiet and try to hide. Yet, because she was an animal, governed by instinct only, she had no grasp of perception. I found it ironic and comical, that, in her attempts to hide from me, she often left her rear-end exposed. Yep, that same rear-end that she stuck up in my face. Though, she had succeeded in hiding her face so that she could not see me, her lack of intelligence, disallowed her to comprehend that, I could still see her. Isn’t that the way we, sometimes, miscalculate our relationship with God, when we sin? Adam, where art thou?
Karli’s rebellion was not only displayed in her unwillingness to fetch, she also had a bad habit of chewing up paper, which was detrimental to her health. She was extremely, over-protective, particularly, when it came to Black men. Any other race of man could approach us with no problem, but, whenever a Black man approached us, she would literally go into a barking frenzy, which was detrimental to my health; being that I was single and ready to mingle. She was blocking! Needless to say, I quickly, determined that this behavior, must be eradicated - AT ONCE! I sometimes had to place Karli behind her gate to keep her out of trouble, yet, at other times, I would only need to show her a piece of, rolled-up, newspaper and she would tuck her tail and shrink away. Which, unfortunately, seemed to be a form of punishment all too familiar to her. Still, just as I had done with Dani, I would pick her up, give her a big hug n’ kiss, and, yes sometimes even a treat. Karli’s response to the corrective methods I imposed on her, taught me that her behavior wasn’t simply rebellious, for rebellion sake: A product of her previous captivity, she had likely been abused which conditioned her to be fearful, and, instinctively, bred rebellion. But, I had come to love her, Therefore, because I had already paid the fees and her adoption into the family had been finalized, I chose to be patient with her.
As intelligent as humans are, our knowledge pales in comparison to God’s omniscience. God knows things about us that we can’t begin to decipher. In my contentment with Karli’s behavior, having been a condition of her previous environment, I had almost missed out. One day as I was eating chicken, a piece, accidentally fell; Karli jumped into the air, did a back-flip and caught the chicken in her mouth. I was dumbfounded. Suddenly, her potential was revealed: She was destined for Frisbee. So, I bought a Frisbee, and initially, having rubbed chicken juice on it, we set out for the park. From that point on, Karli was the envy of other dogs. Eventually, it was no longer necessary to entice her with chicken flavor; she had come to trust that, reward was on the way. God’s is much the same with us. Certainly, He isn’t obligated to prove anything to us, but, He says “Test Me.” Not as in, provoke to anger with sin and foolishness, but, rather, trust Me: As David said “Oh taste and see that the Lord is good; Blessed is the man who trusts Him.” He doesn’t abandon us; but, with love, gentleness and patience, He nurtures us, then, at the precise moment, He brings forth gifts that we never knew we had. But with God, it’s not accidental – He knew from the beginning. He, likewise, knows that, we too, having been born in to sin and shaped by iniquity, were conditioned by our previous owner. Yet, because He has already paid the price for us, His hand remains outstretched, because, seeing us through the Blood of JESUS, He is able to look past our flaws and see the beauty that He, originally, placed in us.
Whether you identify with Dani, Karli or a little bit of both, God loves us all just the same. Therefore, even during chastening, we can take comfort in knowing that (one of my favorite scriptures), “our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.” For He, who has paid the ultimate price for us, has likewise, made a commitment to us . . .
“He who has begun a good work in you, will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.”
THAT’S GOOD NEWS!
Thank You LORD
Dani (government name Daniel), was a snow white, Maltipoo. Reminiscent of a powderpuff, he was the sweetest dog in the world. Very obedient and as smart as a whip; he followed my commands to the tee: sit; shake my hand; bring me your bowl. . . He was always ready to play, and would try to fetch anything I threw his way. A resourceful hunter and fervent digger, he would often come trotting over to me with a bone, in his mouth, twice his size. Then, keeping a keen eye out for thieves in the midst, he would set out to bury his treasure, as if it were the most precious jewel on earth (I suppose, to him, it was). Even though he was just a teensy-weensy lil’ thing, he was very protective of his people: When he barked, he put his whole body into it; so, don’t even think about starting any trouble. He may have been the smallest dog in the park, but that didn’t keep him from tangling with the big dogs, oftentimes, to my sheer terror (thank God for leash laws).
Even though Dani was “the sweetest dog ever,” as I would later anoint him, he was an imperfect being, and as such, there were times when correction was necessary. Dani, was a gatherer; and, that which is gathered - must be stored. His hunter instinct wasn’t restricted to the outdoors; it sometimes carried over to the inside. Dani would “hunt,” from his own bowl, and often hid his “kill” (puppy chow) in obscure places throughout the house. This was not, necessarily, conducive to pest control. Yet, because I didn’t sense any rebellion in his motivation, punishment was infrequent, and the chosen corrective method was never severe. He would be summons to, what I dubbed, “the bad Dani box,” i.e. a shoe box placed in the corner. When instructed to stand in the box, being obedient, Dani did exactly as commanded. On one occasion, I noticed that he wasn’t moving, upon closer investigation, I discovered that he had literally fallen asleep - in the box - standing up. I couldn’t help but laugh, it was the cutest thing ever. Naturally, my laughter awakened him; so, I picked him up, gave him a big hug n’ kiss and, of course, a treat. That occurrence reminds me of Ephesians 6:13 “. . . after having done all to stand; stand, therefore.” Guess you could say: Dani endured hardship like a good soldier; for which he was greatly rewarded. Dani was, indeed, “All That.”
Karli, on the other hand, was, shall we say, special. If Dani was “All That;” Karli was definitely, “ALL THAT, AND A BAG OF CHIPS,” and she knew it. From the moment we met, I knew she was D-I-F-F-E-R-E-N-T. She was a beautiful, beige and white, Sheltie, “The Quintessential Diva,” and rebellious, to boot. At the shelter, when I wanted to get to know her a little better, I called her over to me. It was as if I had announced, “IT’S OFFERING TIME.” Don’t act like you don’t know what I’m talking about: you know how some of y’all can get. Steve Harvey, bless his heart, did a hilarious skit about this in “The Original Kings of Comedy;” and, as wrong as he was for doing it – it was absolutely true; particularly when comes to the second pass, which is usually for benevolence. Anyway, back to Karli, she sort of sighed, then slowly stood up and sauntered over to the gate where I was standing. She looked me over, sniffed at me, and I guess because she could neither see nor smell a treat, she turned her back and walked away. Then, lifting her rear-end, high in the air, she sat back down, with her back to me. Kinda the way some of us react when we don’t see an instantaneous reward in God’s calling. Because of rebellion, Karli had almost missed out on a whole new life of comfort and reward. But, fortunately, for her, I welcomed it as a challenge to be met. I immediately said, “Oh yeah, you’re coming with me.”
I would often take Karli to the park, to try and teach her to fetch, but, because she was so rebellious (Israelite), she wasn’t having it. No matter how often I threw the toy, she would just stand there. She would look at me, look at the toy, look back at me again, then, defiantly, sit down, as if to say: “I didn’t come here for all that; if you want it back, you better go get it, cause I ain’t fetching nothing.” On the positive side, Karli did keep me in shape. I always got quite the workout with her, because I usually ended up retrieving the toys myself. My relationship with Karli was almost human-like, I referred to her as, “Karli is a people too.” Whenever she misbehaved, she would get very quiet and try to hide. Yet, because she was an animal, governed by instinct only, she had no grasp of perception. I found it ironic and comical, that, in her attempts to hide from me, she often left her rear-end exposed. Yep, that same rear-end that she stuck up in my face. Though, she had succeeded in hiding her face so that she could not see me, her lack of intelligence, disallowed her to comprehend that, I could still see her. Isn’t that the way we, sometimes, miscalculate our relationship with God, when we sin? Adam, where art thou?
Karli’s rebellion was not only displayed in her unwillingness to fetch, she also had a bad habit of chewing up paper, which was detrimental to her health. She was extremely, over-protective, particularly, when it came to Black men. Any other race of man could approach us with no problem, but, whenever a Black man approached us, she would literally go into a barking frenzy, which was detrimental to my health; being that I was single and ready to mingle. She was blocking! Needless to say, I quickly, determined that this behavior, must be eradicated - AT ONCE! I sometimes had to place Karli behind her gate to keep her out of trouble, yet, at other times, I would only need to show her a piece of, rolled-up, newspaper and she would tuck her tail and shrink away. Which, unfortunately, seemed to be a form of punishment all too familiar to her. Still, just as I had done with Dani, I would pick her up, give her a big hug n’ kiss, and, yes sometimes even a treat. Karli’s response to the corrective methods I imposed on her, taught me that her behavior wasn’t simply rebellious, for rebellion sake: A product of her previous captivity, she had likely been abused which conditioned her to be fearful, and, instinctively, bred rebellion. But, I had come to love her, Therefore, because I had already paid the fees and her adoption into the family had been finalized, I chose to be patient with her.
As intelligent as humans are, our knowledge pales in comparison to God’s omniscience. God knows things about us that we can’t begin to decipher. In my contentment with Karli’s behavior, having been a condition of her previous environment, I had almost missed out. One day as I was eating chicken, a piece, accidentally fell; Karli jumped into the air, did a back-flip and caught the chicken in her mouth. I was dumbfounded. Suddenly, her potential was revealed: She was destined for Frisbee. So, I bought a Frisbee, and initially, having rubbed chicken juice on it, we set out for the park. From that point on, Karli was the envy of other dogs. Eventually, it was no longer necessary to entice her with chicken flavor; she had come to trust that, reward was on the way. God’s is much the same with us. Certainly, He isn’t obligated to prove anything to us, but, He says “Test Me.” Not as in, provoke to anger with sin and foolishness, but, rather, trust Me: As David said “Oh taste and see that the Lord is good; Blessed is the man who trusts Him.” He doesn’t abandon us; but, with love, gentleness and patience, He nurtures us, then, at the precise moment, He brings forth gifts that we never knew we had. But with God, it’s not accidental – He knew from the beginning. He, likewise, knows that, we too, having been born in to sin and shaped by iniquity, were conditioned by our previous owner. Yet, because He has already paid the price for us, His hand remains outstretched, because, seeing us through the Blood of JESUS, He is able to look past our flaws and see the beauty that He, originally, placed in us.
Whether you identify with Dani, Karli or a little bit of both, God loves us all just the same. Therefore, even during chastening, we can take comfort in knowing that (one of my favorite scriptures), “our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.” For He, who has paid the ultimate price for us, has likewise, made a commitment to us . . .
“He who has begun a good work in you, will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.”
THAT’S GOOD NEWS!
Thank You LORD
