This was so amusing to me that I involuntarily, unconsciously smiled. So I stopped and glanced over at my dog, who was on the end of the bed, watching me read as though it were the most fascinating thing she had ever seen. I had been taught by the classic Baltimore Catechism that God made us “to know Him, to love Him, and to serve Him in this world, and to be happy with Him forever in the next.” Not a word about smiling. I happened to be reading that our purpose is to make God smile. Actually, his words did get through to me, but not without the help of my dog, Ashley, a Chow-Saint Bernard mix. I can only hope that Warren doesn’t misconstrue this to be unflattering. I was cozying up in bed with Rick Warren’s latest book at the time- The Purpose Driven Life: What on Earth Am I Here For? He might not be happy to know that I wasn’t so much inspired by his words as I was by the dog sitting there watching me. Is there something very Godlike about us? With all that God created, would it be unreasonable to think that God also made dogs to teach us about his love for us? It seems to me like something God would do. Obviously, there is something very human about dogs. According to the American Veterinary Medical Association, 74 percent of dog owners consider their pet as a child or family member. That’s double the amount of 10 years ago. Over $99 billion will be spent on pets this year in the United States alone. Thirty-nine percent of American households own at least one dog. There are over 74 million owned dogs in the United States. With all that dogs mean to us, is that too much to consider? Perhaps it’s a stretch to think that dogs were also meant to teach us about God’s love. God made dogs for us to have as companions and helpers, and for the immeasurable pleasure and happiness they give us. But I did have a spiritual enlightening once that was inspired by my dog. Even the most fanatical dog lovers, however, would probably not confuse their canines with the Almighty. What do we mean when we say that? It’s just a cute saying-something we direct toward other dog lovers. Francis of Assisi talked to the animals and even tamed a wolf because he believed they were creatures of God, like us.Īnd of course dog is God spelled backward. Dogs are mentioned more than a dozen times in the Bible.
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