Now I am no expert on the care of pets, in this instance, a dog.
I have never owned a pet in my life. We had caged birds in an outdoor aviary when I was a boy but they IMO do not really count, certainly not for the points I would make here.
But a good friend of mine has asked me to baby sit her pet dog for the weekend. The dog is a little female Jack Russell Maltese cross (not that I have any real idea what that means).
Her name is Poppy and she is sweet natured and well behaved.
She of course enjoys walking, but as I lack the experience (all of two days now) to let her off the leash in outdoor environments, she is on the leash, which is a long leash which retracts or extends depending on the pressure put on it.
As I was walking with Poppy over the last two days I have felt the Lord say to me, (this is a summary not a verbatim transcript of a conversation though I could in principle produce such if I chose) "would you treat Poppy with violence? would you yank hard on her leash?" To me the answer is obvious, "Of course I would not!! She is a sweet and sensitive little child."
So the clear implication is that as I would treat a dog so God would treat me.
However this morning I cried out in anguish, and this is a literal transcript not a summary, "BUT I AM A SINNER" whereby I mean that I should be beaten, deprived and made to suffer. Indeed this is how medieval religion worked, and I picked up a fair amount of this in my travels.
For as some may know I have never believed that God loved. I have certainly never believed that God loved a sinner like me
Yet dogs so mistreated become vicious and even dangerous; and this, when speaking of Christians, by mistreatment from other Christians and by, as in my case, a belief that their Master and Owner needs to take only a violent hand with his charges.
And God my Master tells me this is not so. If we treat dogs with kindness how much more would He treat us if we let Him do so.
But some train their dogs to be watch dogs, attack beasts, violent, aggressive and not socialized to other people or other dogs at all. So some evangelists think that savaging their hearers is their function, barking and growling. But they are wild dogs who have forsaken their Master
This gentleness I spoke us above goes to the commands one would use to a dog. The dog I have temporary charge of has already been trained, well trained, IMO. My leading is gentle but I think firm, and little Poppy is a joy to walk with
To use the lexicon of command given to a dog, Dog our Father is telling me that there are three commandments he would teach me:
SIT, STAY and BEG
Sit means to cease running around in anxiety, something I am prone to do, Stay means in this context, to be still over periods of time, to rest in the care of the Father; and beg means to not fear to ask Him for what I want. This last is something I have always feared to do lest I be punished for presumption or asking foolishly. But I come to know, and may write on this in another post where this is more prominent an issue and about entirely another mater altogether, that He required honesty in the request. I am being told to ask even if I think it wrong, that I might pour my heart out to Him. After all He knows what I long for, and it does me good to acknowledge this even if it be sin; and His kindness continues.
A forth dog commandment I already know - HEEL. I cry out to Him constantly, but the command is not HEAL as if he were the dog and I the master demanding that He heal at my behest. He is still the Master though as I come to see, a kind and benevolent one.
Another point that struck me is this: as the onus on training a dog is on the owner so the onus on training us as Christians is on our Owner, the Lord Himself. I am aware that the Church should have a part to play in this but all too often they usurp the whole thing to themselves. And as a human is more than a dog, even though as living beings and created lives men and dogs have some things in common, so men must study and pray. But at all points the scripture applies: it does not depend on him who wills or runs but o God who has the mercy
So, to end this, He is a dog whisperer par excellence.
Will we stay wild and call our violence godly zeal or will he come to Him when He calls and be trained b the only capable dog whisperer in the business
I have never owned a pet in my life. We had caged birds in an outdoor aviary when I was a boy but they IMO do not really count, certainly not for the points I would make here.
But a good friend of mine has asked me to baby sit her pet dog for the weekend. The dog is a little female Jack Russell Maltese cross (not that I have any real idea what that means).
Her name is Poppy and she is sweet natured and well behaved.
She of course enjoys walking, but as I lack the experience (all of two days now) to let her off the leash in outdoor environments, she is on the leash, which is a long leash which retracts or extends depending on the pressure put on it.
As I was walking with Poppy over the last two days I have felt the Lord say to me, (this is a summary not a verbatim transcript of a conversation though I could in principle produce such if I chose) "would you treat Poppy with violence? would you yank hard on her leash?" To me the answer is obvious, "Of course I would not!! She is a sweet and sensitive little child."
So the clear implication is that as I would treat a dog so God would treat me.
However this morning I cried out in anguish, and this is a literal transcript not a summary, "BUT I AM A SINNER" whereby I mean that I should be beaten, deprived and made to suffer. Indeed this is how medieval religion worked, and I picked up a fair amount of this in my travels.
For as some may know I have never believed that God loved. I have certainly never believed that God loved a sinner like me
Yet dogs so mistreated become vicious and even dangerous; and this, when speaking of Christians, by mistreatment from other Christians and by, as in my case, a belief that their Master and Owner needs to take only a violent hand with his charges.
And God my Master tells me this is not so. If we treat dogs with kindness how much more would He treat us if we let Him do so.
But some train their dogs to be watch dogs, attack beasts, violent, aggressive and not socialized to other people or other dogs at all. So some evangelists think that savaging their hearers is their function, barking and growling. But they are wild dogs who have forsaken their Master
This gentleness I spoke us above goes to the commands one would use to a dog. The dog I have temporary charge of has already been trained, well trained, IMO. My leading is gentle but I think firm, and little Poppy is a joy to walk with
To use the lexicon of command given to a dog, Dog our Father is telling me that there are three commandments he would teach me:
SIT, STAY and BEG
Sit means to cease running around in anxiety, something I am prone to do, Stay means in this context, to be still over periods of time, to rest in the care of the Father; and beg means to not fear to ask Him for what I want. This last is something I have always feared to do lest I be punished for presumption or asking foolishly. But I come to know, and may write on this in another post where this is more prominent an issue and about entirely another mater altogether, that He required honesty in the request. I am being told to ask even if I think it wrong, that I might pour my heart out to Him. After all He knows what I long for, and it does me good to acknowledge this even if it be sin; and His kindness continues.
A forth dog commandment I already know - HEEL. I cry out to Him constantly, but the command is not HEAL as if he were the dog and I the master demanding that He heal at my behest. He is still the Master though as I come to see, a kind and benevolent one.
Another point that struck me is this: as the onus on training a dog is on the owner so the onus on training us as Christians is on our Owner, the Lord Himself. I am aware that the Church should have a part to play in this but all too often they usurp the whole thing to themselves. And as a human is more than a dog, even though as living beings and created lives men and dogs have some things in common, so men must study and pray. But at all points the scripture applies: it does not depend on him who wills or runs but o God who has the mercy
So, to end this, He is a dog whisperer par excellence.
Will we stay wild and call our violence godly zeal or will he come to Him when He calls and be trained b the only capable dog whisperer in the business
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You can disagree with me, even spiritedly. But keep it civil as I am the one hurt by cruelty. I must protect myself from nastiness and will block or ban users if I must. And it would help if you offered reasons for your disagreements. If they are good I may respect you. If they are sound I may even change my mind