Hello my dear friends,
This week's Psalms of Discipleship will be a little bit different. Well, a whole lot different. I know many of you face to face and some of you through facebook. Today I'd like to give you a picture inside my heart, a personal testimony, that I hope blesses you. This morning my wife and I had to do something very difficult; an act that brought great sadness to us: to put our family dog of 15 years to sleep. If you are an animal lover, I hope this encourages you. Even to those who do not have pets, I hope the story causes you to think about God's great love for you and for those you love.
Lord willing, I'll be sending you the next devotion from the Psalms soon. Thank you so much for joining me in this wonderful journey with the Great Shepherd. If this devotional group has been a blessing to you, please invite your facebook friends to join us.
Experiencing the mercy and grace of God,
Denny
He’s Only A Dog . . . Right?
A Tribute to Shadow, March 26, 2011
I first met Shadow at the animal shelter in January of 1997. He was the runt of the litter, forced to the back of the kennel as the other puppies fought over first dibs of the day’s meal. Instead of having her attention focused upon the stronger ones, my daughter chose the least of these. She rescued Shadow from a place of being forgotten about and shoved to the side, to a house of love where he was adopted into our family. But he’s only a dog . . . right?
Shadow earned his name right from the beginning. He was a member of our pack and was always a shadow around us. Seldom would he leave our presence. It has been said that there are few friends more faithful than a man and his dog. I can attest that to be true. In 1998 I had a heart attack and after thirteen days of being in the hospital and returning home, my friend was there, waiting to warmly greet me. He had not forgotten me. Shadow became one of my faithful care-givers as I began the healing process; Always at my feet, by my chair, by my bed. But he’s only a dog, right?
The stories of Shadow are numerous. He loved to play ball and he really loved to play keep-a-way with the ball. He understood the rules of fetch far better than I did, so it seemed. Being an indoor dog, he was given rights to the entire home. We tried to make him feel welcome, and he sure was. Over the course of almost 15 years, Shadow was an important part of our family. But he’s only a dog . . . right?
His personality was sweet. Being a puppy, who was a mixed breed, he had no official papers to prove his worth to the world. The only papers that really mattered to Shadow was early on as we began our institute of house training. Though I never was able to teach him how to use the indoor toilet (put the lid down when you are finished), the plants and grass in our backyard will never be the same again. Once he learned the secret of doing one’s business in the right places (you bark to go out and when you get back you get a treat), we were off to a wonderful relationship. Thousands upon thousands of treats later, those indoor “accidents” were a rarity. But he’s only a dog . . . right?
Shadow was not a loner and he loved people. He never met a stranger, unless it was the UPS driver who always back peddled away from the glass door after making his delivery, hoping the scary looking black dog would not attack. After awhile they grew into this uneasy truce. As Shadow got older and his hearing and eyesight began to weaken, he put more of his time into sleeping than barking at delivery men; dreaming about the good old days when cats and squirrels were fair game when the legs and heart were younger. But he’s only a dog . . . right?
It is painful, very painful to watch a friend begin to slip and deteriorate. Betrayed by arthritis in his joints, getting up and down became a daily challenge. Just when you thought that Shadow could move no more, suddenly a rebirth occurred and he would bark to play, chase the ball down the hall and then . . . become distracted, become tired, become aged, very aged and lay back down. There is a sadness in realizing that the past is in the past and it will be no more. But he’s only a dog . . . right?
The writer of Ecclesiastes reminds us that there is a season for everything. It is normal. It is to be expected. And yet, it still pains the heart to tell a dear friend goodbye. Last night, Shadow’s joint failed to do what his Creator had designed it to do. It was simply worn out. He could not stand for long; he could not walk; and he could not offer his friendship to us any longer. My wife and I slept on couches (no, we laid down on them) in the living room and spent the night with Shadow, wishing we were only navigating through a bad dream and wake up realizing all was well. Our last act of devotion and love for him was to comfort him during his final night on earth. It was the least we could do for our friend. But he’s only a dog . . . right?
Today at the vet Trish and I were talking after Shadow went to sleep and slipped off into eternity. We have been married 25 years and Shadow was a part of our family for 15 years. It really put it into some perspective. We had a relationship with Shadow and he had one with us. Some would say he is not a human being with a soul (and I would agree). But the question that every young child asks (and some adults I know) when a pet dog is lost is “will dogs go to heaven?” Allow me to quote from Randy Alcorn’s classic work called “Heaven.” He writes,
“Humorist Will Rogers said, ‘If there are no dogs in heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went.’ This statement was, of course, based on sentiment, not theology. However, it reflects something biblical: a God-given affection for animals. . . . the question of whether pets will be in Heaven is not, as some assume, stupid. Animals aren’t nearly as valuable as people, but God is their Maker and has touched many people’s lives through them. It would be simple for him to re-create a pet in Heaven if he wants to. He’s the giver of all good gifts, not the taker of them. If it would please us to have a pet restored to the New Earth, that may be sufficient reason. Consider parents who’ve acquired a pet because of their child’s request. God is better than we are at giving good gifts to his children (Matthew 7:9-11). And if we object that animals won’t make us happy in Heaven, we betray our Christoplatonism again—for by finding happiness in God’s creation, we will find happiness in him.” (Pg. 385-386)
Alcorn continues: “We know animals will be on the New Earth, which is a redeemed and renewed old Earth, in which animals had a prominent role. People will be resurrected to inhabit this world. As we saw, Romans 8:21-23 assumes animals as part of a suffering creation eagerly awaiting deliverance through humanity’s resurrection. This seems to require that some animals who lived, suffered, and died on the Old Earth must be made whole on the New Earth. Wouldn’t some of those likely be our pets?” (Pg. 386)
Finally, Alcorn quotes three people of note and offers their interesting thoughts. John Wesley said, “Something better remains after death for these poor creatures . . . that these, likewise, shall one day be delivered from this bondage of corruption, and shall then receive an ample amends for all their present sufferings.” C. S. Lewis commented, “ It seems to me possible that certain animals may have an immortality, not in themselves, but in the immortality of their masters. . . . Very few animals indeed, in their wild state, attain to a ‘self’ or ego. But if any do, and if it is agreeable to the goodness of God that they should live again, their immortality would also be related to man—not, this time, to individual masters, but to humanity.” (Pg. 386) One last perspective by Joni Eareckson Tada: “If God brings our pets back to life, it wouldn’t surprise me. It would be just like Him. It would be totally in keeping with His generous character. . . . Exorbitant. Excessive. Extravagant in grace after grace. Of all the dazzling discoveries and ecstatic pleasures heaven will hold for us, the potential of seeing Scrappy would be pure whimsy—utterly, joyfully, surprisingly superfluous. . . . Heaven is going to be a place that will refract and reflect in as many ways as possible the goodness and joy of our great God, who delights in lavishing love on His children.” (Pg. 386-387) Note: for further study I suggest you also read Alcorn’s entire chapter, “Will Animals, Including Our Pets, Live Again?” (Pages 383-390).
Shadow, he’s only a dog, right? Well, he was a dog we rescued and adopted him as a full-fledged member of our family. He was a dog who was a treasured source of an abundance of happy memories. Shadow was a dog who was faithful to his family to the very end. He was a dog who lived hard and played hard, and let us join him in his unique world of joy. Shadow was worth all of the vet bills, the pain pills, the yearly Christmas bones and toys, and the constant vacuuming of shedding hair on the carpet. He was a dog who licked a whole lot more people than he bit. Shadow is a reminder of how the Fall of man impacts those we love the most. He was a dog that loved us as much as we loved him. He was a member of our family and we will miss him for a long, long time. But he’s only a dog, right?
With great love and devotion to Shadow, my faithful friend,
Denny
The godly care for their animals, but the wicked are always cruel. Proverbs 12:10 (NLT)
A righteous man has regard for the life of his animal, But even the compassion of the wicked is cruel. (NASB95)
A righteous man cares about his animal’s health, but [even] the merciful acts of the wicked are cruel. (HCSB)
Denny Bates & Something New Christian Publishers © 2011 All rights reserved.
www.dennybates.com
http://thequalitydisciple.blogspot.com/
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