They Call it Puppy Love!

He is poised, dignified, noble, patient, faithful, protective, intelligent, a good judge of character, friendly and forgiving. Who am I describing? Well, I chose to call him Max. He is my purebred German Shepherd Dog that I recently obtained from a local breeder. He has great qualities, and of course I knew that before deciding to purchase him. You see, I studied his kind and have been the proud owner of two other GSDs. My first was also called Max. He was a rescued, beaten, abused orphaned puppy of about six months. When I got him little did I know that he had a disease that is deadly to canines. Within three weeks he had weakened so much that I had to put him down. Heartbreak is the only description. A few years later I found another from a breeder and named her Reagan (after Ronald) and had her until she was six years old when I had to surrender her to a friend as a result of my divorce. So, as you can tell I love German Shepherd Dogs.
So, where in blazes am I going with this? Well, my little eleven-week-old Max is constantly underfoot. As careful as I am with my size twelves, I do occasionally step on his sensitive little front paw. He yelps and yelps and I gently pick him up and comfort him. Do you know what he does then? He licks and licks my face to let me know (in my mind anyway) that all is forgiven. A dear friend of mine recently said this on her Facebook page: "My goal in life is to be a person as good as my dog already thinks I am." I agree and I'll tell you why. It's a thing called unconditional love. Dogs are masters at this quality. Just that little example of my big foot with most of my 230 pounds of weight behind it should make my point.
Oh, to be a person as good as my dog already thinks that I am.
There are godly qualities in well-bred and well-behaved dogs. I listed some at the beginning of this article. The one I want to focus on for a little bit is forgiving. I wish, and more than that, pray to God that I (we) would be so gracious with each other. So often we cannot or will not let go of an offense suffered. Trust me I have been very guilty of this at times. But the longer I live, the more I realize the importance of being like my Max: forgiving. I know, I know, a dog does not understand the principle of grace and forgiveness. But does he really need to? We claim to understand it perfectly and many of us can actually quote the Webster definition. But do we practice it to the degree that we can define it? This is especially true for those of us that call ourselves Christian. What excuse do we have for not being gracious and forgiving? I've searched and searched and I can't find one in the Bible! As a matter of fact here is what the Apostle Paul said to the church at Ephesus: "Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you." Ephesus 4:32.
Wow, so the next time someone "steps on your paw" be sure to remember what your response ought to be. I sure will, especially since Max arrived.
Well, I think I'll "paw's" here for now. Until next time. God bless you.
Vinny