Canine theology

george
Originally uploaded by mincaye.

It occurred to me, as I was going to bed last night, that the highest purpose a dog could possibly aspire to is that of bringing joy to its master.

And so it is with us, who were created to bring joy to our Master, God--we are the apple of his eye. When he created the universe and all in it, he took a step back, gazed upon it all, and proclaimed it 'very good.'

The problem with this is that people tend to think of bringing joy in terms of a court jester or a spoilt toy dog--as if we mainly exist for God to laugh at our expense. But that is our failure, not his.

My dog shares a very special bond with my family; indeed, the same is true of all other dogs who are loved by their owners. And if we can mean to world to our dogs, how much more should God be to us!

We in our benevolence towards our canine friends cannot begin to compare with God's goodness to us all. Yet it is our comparison with dogs that mocks us all the more: they are more faithful to us than we usually are to God.

At the end of the day, the dog greets the master with such explosive and contagious enthusiasm; yet God is a word frequently missing from the vocabulary of many a person, and often exists, if at all, as a swear word.

Maybe that's why dogs are considered to be man's best friend--they remind us so much of ourselves, and continue to encourage us in our adventure with the Great Father who is Lord of the canines and the humans and everything else.