Puppy Love

By Guy K. Henry

www.guyhenry.com

 

Luke 10:27  “And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.”

 Lord, teach me to love others like my dogs love me. I’m not trying to be funny. It may seem like an odd way to pray, but I believe that I have never been loved more intensely, more purely than I have been by Peanut and Roscoe, my two precious dogs. It strikes me that I’d be a better person, and a better servant to God if only I could love my fellow people the same way that my long eared friends love me. Their love is the strongest, most uncontaminated, and purest I’ve ever encountered.

I may have thought I knew a thing or two about love, but I was wrong. I know that when I look into Peanut and Roscoe’s eyes. When they look at me with those dark eyes I feel their little hearts beating out the word “You…You…You”. Their devotion is like nothing I have ever experienced. Lord, teach me to be devoted to the people I meet, friends and strangers alike. Instill an interest in their lives, and motivate me to lend a caring hand. Lord, you love me, and all people like this, help me to do the same.

I realize again how little I know about love when I awake at four in the morning consumed with sadness. Before long Peanut and Roscoe are pressing into me, trying to find a spot to nuzzle and whisk away my sadness. Four in the morning, four in the afternoon, it doesn’t matter. The little four legged pups are always available and willing to comfort me. They are never too busy. Lord, teach me this kind of availability to show love no matter what the time, what my schedule, or how busy I am.

My lack of knowledge on the subject of love is apparent every time a car pulls into my driveway or there is a suspicious noise. Peanut and Roscoe are my own personal Secret Service. Their love translates into an intense desire to protect me from any form of danger. I am convinced that when I am away, they more than miss me, they worry about me. Lord, teach me to love people enough to protect them whenever called upon. Lord, make me get involved, and not ask someone else to do the job. Help me to not turn away, but to be filled with compassion.

I suppose that I have experienced this pure form of love once before. That is because God shows it to me every day. He is devoted to me, interested in every detail of my life. He is constantly available. God is never too busy for me. And, God protects me daily in ways I can’t understand.

God, thank you for your love. Thank you for demonstrating it through my precious dogs. Lord, help me to be more like you, and more like Peanut and Roscoe.

1 John 4:7-8, “Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.  (8)  He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.”