My family and I have been battling a particularly troubling issue. Our dog is in heat. She is almost fifteen years old and should be nice and settled by now, but alas, she is being drawn away by outside influences- a young dog. You would think she wouldn't be interested, but believe it or not, our dog is a cougar. At first, we thought he was a bad influence on our sweet, chaste baby. But after watching her pretending to potty, only to run away with the young dog, we've found that she has a mind of her own. As you can see in the picture, she feels shame for her actions. This picture was taken after a day and a half wild spree she took through the neighborhood. She vandalized neighbors garbage, sniffed strange dogs, and slept over at a boy dog's house! When we found her, we had to drag her home while she looked longingly over her shoulder at her doggy love. So when we put her back into the sanctuary of our garage for the second time, I wanted to be hard core. No special treats for you young lady! No heated blanket! No rub behind your ears! But then she looked at me like this. Shame. I caved pretty quickly. This had me thinking about the story of the Prodigal son in Luke 15:11-32. The story is told how the younger son decided he wanted to live life the way he saw fit. He took his inheritance early and went off to blow every dime he had on wasteful living. A famine hit and suddenly, he found himself poor and hungry. He found work with pigs and had that moment when the Holy Spirit opened his eyes. He realized he would be better off as a servant at his dad's house than where he was. So he returned expecting an angry response from his father. No food! No clothes! No love! Instead it says his father showed compassion. He killed a calf and had a party. Meanwhile, the older brother came back to the party asking why his father would do this. He had stayed and been faithful working the whole time. He had never even killed a goat for a party for him. Now the young one who left was getting a party after wasting all of his dad's money on wild living. His father mentioned,
‘Son, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours. 32 It was right that we should make merry and be glad, for your brother was dead and is alive again, and was lost and is found. Luke 15:31-32NIV’ The brother had a legitimate question. Why do I see my brother who has not been serving you prosper immediately after coming back while I have never left you and don't get that kind of blessing? Have you ever wondered why is God giving some people so many chances? Why does God keep pouring out His love when it seems to be wasted? In Matthew 9:36, it mentions that Jesus saw the crowds and showed compassion- just like the father in the parable. Compassion means to be aware of the distress of others and desire to alleviate (remove) it. In this day and age, compassion seems to be what is lacking the most. We look for justice, revenge, equality, but we don't focus much on compassion. When you see that brother or sister that is struggling and hurting, do you notice their pain? That's not enough. Jesus didn't just notice the pain. He tried to remove it. We can talk all we want about helping the lost and those that have fallen away, but until we are willing to love like Christ did with compassion, it is just good thoughts. Instead of being jealous when a brother finally comes to Christ, let's welcome them with love, compassion, and a heart ready to guide them in their walk with God. Have a great week high-heeled warriors!
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