Lessons from a little dog

Faith in Christ Jesus is what makes each of you equal with each other, whether you are a Jew or a Greek, a slave or a free person, a man or a woman.” Galatians 3:28 CEV

When my daughter moved from her house into an apartment, she wasn’t able to keep her little chihuahua because the dog barked too much – so we inherited Egggo.

Since we already had an older rescued Brittany Spaniel named Danny, we hoped Egggo would get along with him. The two of them were OK together when my daughter came for visits, but an extended stay might be another thing.

Egggo seemed to get along with Danny fairly well at first. They mostly kept their distance, but over the next few days, it was fun to watch the two geriatric dogs, each with very different, very distinct personalities. Whenever Danny had to go out, Egggo followed. She did her business in the same spot and had to eat at the same times. She even took over his blankets and would have taken his bed too, except that she had to be crated at night to avoid accidents.

Just when it seemed they might start curling up together, Egggo found a pig’s ear to chew on. It was her toy and she loved it so much she was willing to destroy any shreds of friendship she had built with easy-going old Danny Boy. Whenever he so much as looked in her direction, she growled and snarled. If he walked too close to her, she worried that he would steal her chewy toy and lunged at him with teeth bared.

For as little as she is, she rules the roost. There’s no equality in her mind - she’s the queen of this household and she shows it!

But thankfully for Danny, we try to treat both dogs equally. Though she might try to boss him about, he is still on equal footing with his humans, getting lots of cuddling, love and attention – just as we give to her. Because he has specific physical needs, we do some things differently for Danny Boy, but we do care equally for each one.

God treats us the same way. It doesn’t matter to him what our nationality, religion, income status or sex is – we are all equal in his sight. Knowing our individual personalities, talents and skills, he may relate to each of us differently in order to bring out the best in each of us, but we are still equal in his sight. To put it as one Christian psychologist once did, “Wherever the Gospel goes, Jesus raises the status of the slave the poor and women. ” He offers the same salvation to all. And to all who accept that salvation, he offers the same opportunity to grow to their fullest potential in him.

Thank you Father, for caring about me! Amen.