My Little Visitor

I finally got to meet him. As anticipated, he peed on my floor. When I good-humouredly tapped his bottom with a toy, he ran to my rear and nipped my own. As I played with him, his sharp little teeth found their way into my hands and sleeves. Who was my energetic house guest? Tom, my aunt and uncle’s new puppy. All that chasing around, sniffing every object and attempting to eat every floral pattern in the carpet soon exhausted him, and he fell asleep in my arms.

 

Our love for our pets is God-like. God appointed Adam His viceregent on earth, making him lord of the creation. That we should love, train and care for little puppies is fulfilling our innate, God-given calling to care for His creatures. That we take pleasure in this vocation dimly reflects God’s own pleasure in caring for us.  

If we who are fallen and selfish can love and cherish little dogs, despite their spills and nips, how much more does our Heavenly Father value and shelter us?

When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers,

The moon and the stars, which You have ordained,

What is man that You are mindful of him,

And the son of man that You visit him?

For You have made him a little lower than the angels,

And You have crowned him with glory and honour.

You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands;

You have put all things under his feet,

All sheep and oxen—

Even the beasts of the field,

The birds of the air,

And the fish of the sea

That pass through the paths of the seas.

 

O Lord, our Lord,

How excellent is Your name in all the earth!

 

-Psalm 8, NKJV