For years, my mind has echoed a sermon parable of an angry boy and his dog. In the story, a dog follows his young master walking down the road. The boy vents his anger at a perceived injustice by muttering under his breath and kicking stones. When the dog begins to walk beside his master, the boy kicks the dog. The dog yelps in pain but still obediently follows behind his master. The boy walks a little further, turns, and kicks the dog again. After each incident, the faithful dog takes longer to rise and follow. Finally, bloody and weak, the dog could no longer rise and dies in pain.
That story
has a depth of meaning. It reminds me of my Savior, Jesus. Sinless and innocent
of crimes against Him, He suffered incredible cruelty and died. Yet, He
displayed nothing but love. And still looks down on us all with love.
I often look
back on times when life has beaten me up and ask myself, did I rise and follow Jesus who suffered for me or did I give into the
temper that can so often be my first response? Does my Savior shed a tear over my angry behavior?
Can I love
like Jesus?
Can I
refrain from acrimony?I can only work at answering those questions with, “I will follow Jesus. I will walk down the road and try not to strike out at others. I will go to the Lord with my hurts and do my best to emulate His love.”
Dear Lord. I do not want to be like
the boy in that parable. Help me love like You, forgive like You and rest in
You. Amen.
Christy
Struben © 2015
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