Sometimes I think I learn more about God through my dog Milo than anywhere else. It might sound crazy, but think about it. The Bible tells me God’s love for me is unconditional. Is there any better example of UNCONDITIONAL love than what you get from a dog? God must have created dogs, at least in part, to show us a physical manifestation of the kind of love He feels for us! Here are 3 of the ways…
God’s love is fierce.
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son, that whosoever believe in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
John 3:16
Sometimes when I spend time with God, I get a glimpse of the depth and weight of His love for me. Most of the time though, I just can’t grasp it. It’s just so… huge.
When I see how my dog greets me when I get home from work though, I sort of get it. Milo goes CRAZY when he sees me. It’s as if my walking in the door is the most amazing thing that has EVER happened. He jumps on me. He licks my face. He jumps more. He licks more. Sometimes, he gets SO excited he jumps too high and ends up flipping himself, landing awkwardly on his back. He’s so happy though, he doesn’t even care. He just whimpers a little and goes back to the jumping and the licking. It’s a fierce love if I’ve ever seen one.
God gets THAT excited over me too! He gets that excited over you too.
What if every time we go to God in prayer, every time we turn to Him for help, every time we praise Him, every time we give Him thanks, we imagine that it’s the singular greatest thing that’s ever happened in His eyes? What if we change our perspective to recognize the pure joy that God feels for, in and through us? How might our lives change if we lived from the place of total confidence that comes from knowing just how deeply we are loved?
God’s love is unconditional.
“Though my father and mother forsake me, the Lord will receive me.”
Psalm 27:10
There is NOTHING I could do – EVER – that would change how God feels about me. He adores me. Even if everyone else in this world abandons me, He will be there for me.
I know this intellectually, but it can be hard to find an example of this kind of love on this earth. People talk about loving each other unconditionally, but we don’t come anywhere as close as our furry friends. Milo is ALWAYS ridiculously excited to see me. No matter what. Even if I’ve left him for hours at a time. Even though half the time after a long day, I just give him a quick pet and do everything I can to try to stop the jumping and the licking. It doesn’t matter. My dog will never stop loving me. There is nothing I could ever do that would stop him from pursuing me.
This is exactly how God feels about me. And about you. It’s how He feels about ALL of us. Just like the father in the story of the prodigal son, God will ALWAYS receive us back with open arms when we wander astray. No matter what. Just like our dogs, He loves us in ways we didn’t earn and that we can never quite fully comprehend. He will never stop loving us, and there is nothing we could ever do that would stop Him from pursuing us!
God’s love is personal.
“Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.”
Isaiah 43:1
The most powerful aspect of God’s love for me is how personal it is. He doesn’t love me because I am smart, or pretty, or funny, or anything else the world so often judges on. He just loves me for me.
This is an especially hard concept for me to explain, but once again, my dog helps me understand. Milo doesn’t just get excited to see SOMEONE after a long day, he gets excited to see ME. He is attached specifically to ME. I’ve seen stories about army dogs who haven’t seen their owners for years and somehow still recognize them. I don’t know if there’s a specific scent or if it’s some other animal instinct, but there is something very personal about a dog’s love.
God loves me purely and solely because He made me. Because I am HIS. The Bible says God calls me personally by name. He knows me intimately. And He loves me just because I am who I am. I don’t have to be anything else. What freedom there is in knowing this!
When I see my dog, there’s no way to deny I am experiencing a fierce and loyal love. A love that’s for me and me alone. A love that’s unconditional. I’m so grateful I get to see this kind of love in such a real and tangible way so that I can better understand God’s love for me. Because the truth is, God loves me EVEN MORE than my dog does.
Seeing Through the Fog 