“For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7b ESV).
This week we completed our four month moving process by bringing everything we had stored at my parents’ house to our new home. It was hot laborious work but finally we finished! During the unloading process my mom and I played a much smaller roll than my dad and Ryan. They carried the big heavy stuff while mom and I carried a lot of smaller items. Throughout the entire event, Tuff decided it was his job to supervise. We have a 100 foot tie out cable that I hooked to him so he could be with us but I didn’t have to worry about him running off. Most of the time though, he parked himself right in the middle of the main doorway so that whenever we moved things in we had to be sure not to step on him. A few times my mom or I ended up on dog duty, making sure he was out of the way while the men carried something extra heavy or bulky through the door.
I’m confident Tuff thought he was playing a big role. He was awake and alert, attentive to our actions the whole time. The next day 6am came and went which I thought was unusual for a dog who likes to get up to potty between 4am and 5am. I convinced Tuff to come out of his crate and go outside to do his business. He immediately went to lay on the couch when we got back inside. After an hour or so, I went to take my shower, Ryan came in and asked me if I knew where “my dog was.” Tuff had moved from the couch back to his crate! Surely bedtime wasn’t over yet! While he may not have done any heavy lifting or carried anything and even got in the way a few times, we still wanted him to be part of it. He did the best he could for a little dog! His heart was in the right place.
In 1 Corinthians, the apostle Paul speaks about love. If you do good works, but not out of love, then while they may benefit someone on Earth they are not of benefit to you. Heaven cannot be obtained by doing good works. Good works should be the result of love, an out pouring of heavenly desire to help others. Jesus said people will know we follow Him if we have love toward one another (John 13:35). Dogs have been called man’s best friend for their loyalty and love. Imagine if we could see people the way their dogs see them. How much more love would we see? And what kind of witness could we be if we exemplified that kind of love?
Oh Lord help me to love others as You do, even more than their dog loves them! Amen.