Steadfast and Faithful
I have two dogs. They are both mongrels, which means that their ancestry is mixed up. Jethro is a Basset Hound mix. He is not a small dog, but he is short and he is long. He has long sharp toenails and he can dig a hole in a heartbeat. I am not sure what Theo’s ancestry is. She is black with tan markings on her face and legs and she has short pointy ears. Her legs are very long, which helps her to run very fast. Her greatest asset is her loyalty. Wherever I am she is always close by. (Right now, she is lying under the chair I’m sitting in.)
They are two very different dogs. They look different, they have different talents and abilities. In their DNA, they were designed for different purposes. As different as they are, they have one thing in common. They are mine, they love me, and I love them. They are faithful to me and I will always take care of them. They are my dogs and I am their master.
Allow me to draw a parallel between these dogs and those of us who follow Christ. Like these dogs, we are all very different. We look different, we think differently and we all have different abilities. The characteristics that we inherited from our ancestors have shaped our diversities. The culture we grew up in has shaped our diversities. The talents that are embedded in our DNA have also shaped our diversities. Yet, as different as we are we have one thing in common; God is our God and we are His servants.
The Apostle Paul writes in the book of Romans “I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think. ——For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them, with cheerfulness.” Romans 12:3-8 ESV
God in his wisdom has made us very diverse. It is our differences that give us our value to the Kingdom of Heaven. There are no MVPs among Jesus’ followers, we are all of equal value in His sight. We all have different talents and abilities. Despite these differences, we must understand this. Our greatest asset to the Kingdom of Heaven is our faithfulness to God.
Update-
I wrote this a couple of years ago. Since then, Jethro has passed away. Gentle Theo, however, is doing well and still stays by my side. It is my prayer that we will learn from our dogs. Just as they are loyal to their masters, may we be steadfast and faithful to our God and Savior, Jesus Christ.
“Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me.”
Psalms 51:10 NKJV
https://bible.com/bible/114/psa.51.10.NKJV
Douglas and Deborah Huff
email-douglas@pavementendsministry.com
