Can My Dog Teach Me How To Follow?

Our family has a very sweet dog named Gracie. A little over two years ago, my sister-in-law brought her to us in a shoe-box. Gracie was less than 6 weeks old and weighed less than 6 pounds. She would curl up in my lap and be so content and happy…

Nowadays, if I sit on the floor, Gracie still tries to sit in my lap. I wouldn’t mind so much, if she didn’t weigh 70 pounds! Gracie doesn’t know the difference though. She just knows she likes to be near “Mommy.” In fact, it doesn’t seem to matter so much what we do together, just so long as we’re together.

Wherever I go, she wants to be there too. Whatever I’m doing, she wants to feel included. Mostly, however, Gracie just wants to be in my presence…

Today, my dog got me to thinking. Perhaps Gracie could teach me a thing or two about being a follower. You see, I don’t like to be the leader of other people, but I’m too independent to follow others for too long. Of course, I’m still not really interested in following other people. There’s only One I want to concern myself with following, and His name is Jesus.

Gracie depends on me for everything–food, shelter, comfort… She follows me wherever I go, and enjoys just being near me. Yes, Gracie knows what it means to be a follower. I seek to follow Christ in that way–to depend on His provision for all my needs, to follow wherever He leads, and to bask in His glorious presence…

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“If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” —Luke 9:23

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**Note:   If my lesson seems simple–it is.  It’s a simple example, message, and reminder.  Yet, why does it seem so hard to implement?  We must let Him show us the way…