DOGS TEACH US ABOUT GOD
Dogs make us smile; they brighten up our lives; they give us companionship, love, protection, and joy. The saying goes that a dog is man’s best friend. That’s because they are non-judgmental; they are loyal; they are loving. And it’s also because of all we can learn from a dog.
The dog lives for the day, the hour, even the moment. Robert Falcon Scott
Dogs are true submitters. …the dog; whether you pet him or scold him, he pants. [Quran 7:176]
They accept their lot without complaint. They walk with you when you want to walk. They play when you want to play. They sleep when you want to sleep. They submit to God’s will happily. They are not concerned about what’s going to happen tomorrow and they don’t grieve over what happened yesterday.
They can teach us patience and forgiveness — they don’t hold grudges. They can teach us to live in the moment and not worry about the future — just trust in God. They can teach us calmness in the face of tough times and absolute joy in the glorious times.
To sit with a dog on a hillside on a
glorious afternoon is to be back in Eden, where doing nothing was not boring — it was peace.
Milan Kundera
The scriptures mention dogs in companionship with their masters. The Book of Tobit (Tobit 6:2, 11:4) tells of a young man going off on a mission for his father and his faithful dog comes along with him. And when they return home the dog is still happily running along behind.
And the Quran tells of believing young men who escape persecution by hiding in a cave, and their dog stretches out with them as they sleep (Quran 18:9–22). These dogs are simply sharing their owners’ lives, just as today we enjoy sharing our lives with our dogs. It’s important to realize that God blesses the relationship between man and dog. He created the dog to behave this way — to show his love for his owner, to be there to comfort and protect.
Dogs can also teach us how to face getting old with dignity and grace. He doesn’t grumble that it takes him longer to get up or that he can’t run and play like he used to. He accepts this as simply another stage in life. What a wonderful way to approach our own aging.
And finally, perhaps, our dog could teach us when to speak up.
A dog barks when his master is attacked. I would be a coward if I saw that God’s truth is attacked and yet would remain silent. Pearl S. Buck
It’s a great joy to live with a dog and learn from its ways how to be a better submitter to God. To enjoy every day of life, to show that delight without embarrassment, to be forgiving of others, to greet friends with gladness, to live for today without concern for tomorrow, and, most of all, to be loyal to the One who provides for us and protects us; to submit to God’s will cheerfully.
