1 Corinthians 13:7-8a,13 – Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends. So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love. (ESV)

Daisy, our West Highland Terrier, is now a year old. She amazes us by loving us, never growling in fear, even after being taken to the vet for an operation, and barking only to call us to play or to let her outside.

Having had her spayed, I felt concerned about taking her back to the vet's practice after the operation, thinking that any dog would know that this place is where her inner physical pain and stitches originated. Not a bit of it! She loved everyone just as if they had all given her a treat.

Daisy loves meeting people and receiving attention. She puts me to shame because I wish I were so open and trusting, but the years of life's experience have had its toll on my trust issues.

Daisy is getting better at listening — unless there is the chance of chasing a ball or bird, or barking at a cat. It occurs to me that we can be like that: having selective hearing in some areas of our lives, or just ignoring God's direction because something more exciting, tempting, or tasty distracts our focus from His voice.

Somehow, I sense that God is in all this, showing me what real devotion looks like from the other side of giving. It is a two-way relationship. I aspire to love God with such devotion as Daisy gives to us, and it puts me to shame when I think about my self-interested love for God, but I am learning.

When I let her off the lead, she seems to have a knack of finding seed-burrs that I have to pull out of her fur. I pulled out four from the fur on the end of her nose recently. It must have hurt, even as careful as I was in the process, but grudgingly, she let me. She is so like me in my relationship with God.

I wonder what things that you and I get caught up in seeking out, carrying away seeds of the world and/or the evil one.

I often ask God what loving Him looks like in reality and practice. He showed us the love on His side, dying on the cross, and He gave us the Bible to seek out His nature found therein.

Maybe there are some pointers from Daisy that we can take away from today. Let us ask ourselves where our help comes from and why we come to God. What is the basis of this relationship? His love is eternal.

Prayer: Lord, thank You for loving us. You are the defender of the weak and the hurting. Help us to have more trust in Your unending grace and love so that we can allow You — even though it may hurt — to pull out the burrs that life has seeded and that we carry on the end of our noses. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen.

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About the author:

Rod Marshall <roderickhenrymarshall@gmail.com>
Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England
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