Recently, our dog, Penny, was happily chewing on a rawhide type of bone the size of a rolling pin. She was lying just at my feet, crunching away without a care in the world. I don’t know what gave me the idea to pick on her a bit… it was probably because Lauri wasn’t in the room to tease… but I reached out and poked her with my foot and said, “Hey, give me that bone.” At my words she stopped chewing instantly and just froze. Then, without turning her head toward me, she gave me a side-eyed blink-less stare. Her facial expression said it all… “There is no way I am going to look directly at you because you might be serious and you ain’t gettin’ this bone.” Then, she huffed a VERY overly dramatic sigh, got to her feet, picked up her bone and marched out of the room. Let me tell you, I got the biggest chuckle out of her reaction! She displayed the annoyance, the frustration and the emotion of a PERSON — and she had understood EXACTLY what I had said.
Even though Penny lives a pretty cushy life, I suppose I should cut her a break. I mean, she really doesn’t have anything at all in this world unless our family gives it to her. We give her food, water, walks, playtime, shelter, treats and toys — she is completely dependent upon what we provide for her. I suppose that I might react in a similar way if all I really had in the world was a rawhide bone and someone wanted to take it from me.
Penny’s hilarious reaction to me asking for her bone led me to ponder some of my reactions when God has asked something of me. You see, the reality is all that I have in this world I have because He has given it to me. He gives me health, relationships, my physical needs and of course the salvation of my soul. The blessings God has given me are rich in all His provisions for me. Provision for living life… provision for knowing Him, and even the provision of Eternal Life.
Yet, sometimes I attempt to hold on to the equivalent of a rawhide bone when God asks for some sacrifice in my life.
“Lord, I am just so busy right now, surely someone else can serve in that ministry.” “Lord, I am too tired to go to church and I am on vacation, you know.” “Lord, perhaps someone else would be better suited to help that person in need. I know, You know, that many people have more than I do.” “But Lord, I already give a significant amount of my money back to You, how about we let someone else give this time?” “Lord, I know I need to be more patient with difficult people, but remember how much better I am now in my prayer life — let’s focus on that, okay?” You know, I give God the side-eyed stare and try to hold onto what is mine… even though what is mine was given to me by… yep… HIM.
Sometimes my selfishness shames me. Keith Green once sang this about serving God: “Jesus rose from the grave, and you… you can’t even get out of bed!” Yeah, it’s been true of me. And then, the next line of the song… “Come on! Get out of your bed!” Here’s the simple… in your face… you-better-believe-it-and-know-it truth — you and I will NEVER sacrifice as much for God… as God has sacrificed for us. Jesus died on the cross and rose from the dead just for us… it seems a bit silly to declare ourselves too busy, too poor, too spiritual or too overtasked to do something for Him.
Paul wrote: “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.” Romans 12:1 Just what does the “therefore” reference? How about everything he had written in Romans up to that point (I just don’t have time to reference all of THAT in one simple pondering) — but it’s a ton. I will summarize it in overly simplistic terms… since God has done everything for you… and loved you with an everlasting love… offer everything about yourself as a sacrifice back to him. I’m kind of grateful for the little lesson my overly dramatic and goofy personality-clad yellow lab taught me. Now, I think I’ll go home and hide Penny’s bone…
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