We have two puppies. Yes. We are crazy.
Now that we've moved past that fact, let me tell you why God has given me two puppies. And why, not only has He given me two puppies, but why I need them. Both of my puppies.
We've been going through Ephesians at church. This weekend we talked through Ephesians 2:8-10. At one point, our pastor used the example of choosing their family dog based upon certain criteria. We can choose a dog based upon certain criteria (breed, color, gender, etc) but the fact of the matter is, we don't know the core of who this dog might be. We don't know what baggage this dog will carry along into its new home.
We have two puppies. We have Mozzie Tioga. Mozzie is the wonder dog and best puppy ever. Mozzie is the dog that we would have chosen. We picked him based on breed, ears, and color, but also because we saw a glimpse of his personality as a puppy. Mozzie is our good dog. And we love him. He sits. He stays. He comes. He obeys. He snuggles. He is independent. He likes everyone. If he does something naughty he is remorseful for days. He is there when we want him and happy when we ignore him. He is a good dog.
Then we have Maple. Maple Metolius was our first dog. We chose her because we thought she was a Corgi, and we thought she was just overwhelmed at the rescue center and didn't really have anxiety problems. We were wrong.
Maple is a Rat Terrier… Not a Corgi. Maple is needy. Maple has separation anxiety. Maple chews things. Maple doesn't like new people, especially new men. Maple doesn't relax unless Dawson and I are both home and nobody else is around. Maple is challenging.
But we love her. Regardless of her many imperfections, we still love her and will care for her. But we wouldn't have chosen her.
And that is where it struck me. I am worse than Maple. My sin is worse than Maple. My imperfections are worse than Maple's. And God knew all this. He knew my inmost being, and yet… He still chose me. God has chosen me as his beloved in spite of who I am at my core. He has adopted me and He will carry out in me what he has begun in me until I see Him face to face. Regardless of how I act, He loves me and embraces me and has adopted me. And he knew my condition. He knew my sin. He knew my personality and all of its defects. He knew my issues. He knew my fears. And He still welcomed me into his family.
This is why I need my two puppies. I need my good Mozzie boy because I need my easy dog. I need my dog that is the dog I would have chosen, not only because he reminds me why I have dogs and he is good with all people, but because I need to be reminded of human standards. I need the reminder of what sinful humans value and see as beautiful. And then I need my Maple girl. I need my little troubled soul of a canine. I need this fearful, anxious, high strung little rat to remind me of my nature. I am fearful. I am anxious. I am high strung. I don't trust God. And yet he still chose me. Just like we chose Maple (only, we didn't know Maple) and now we love Maple, so much more has God chosen us and does love us.
Our choosing of Maple pales in comparison of God choosing us. And yet, He has been gracious enough to give us this little dog to show us His great love. We love our little Maple. She isn't the dog we would have chosen. And yet, that is exactly why we need our Maple - our gift of grace from Jesus.
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