I arrived home from camping last week end and bathed my  dog Mayflower, which was quite a process, and put her out in the yard to dry, thinking she’d be so worn out I wouldn’t see much of her again that day.  As I watched her, I observed many things.  She realized at one point that she had gained an audience, so she began running in circles, chasing her tail, until she succeeded.  At which point she would stop and look up, tail in mouth, expecting applause.

I continued to watch her patrol the perimeter of the yard, chasing birds away from the water fall.  Barking at passing noisy children.

And I observed her coming to me, just to say hello.  Resting her little head on my leg.  Wanting to sit with me and just be. Or getting nose to nose with me, looking me in the eye, to make sure I smile at her.

And it got me thinking about how similar the Christian life can be to that of Mayflower life.  Let me tell you how:

The running around part?  Catching the tail part?  That is sometimes us, when we do things for God  in public.  Things like serving and volunteering. We pant really hard, run around fast, and strive for the approval of the people, and of God, as we then stop and wait for applause.

The patrolling of the yard is like the diligent efforts to maintain our Christian walk; the reading, the prayer, the character building things that we can never allow ourselves to get tired of.

But oh, the spending time with me?  That’s us spending time with God, just saying I want to be close to you, God.  That’s us coming alongside people, looking them in the eye, making sure they are doing well and growing and connecting.

Paul says in Ephesians 4:2-3 “I want you to get out there and walk—better yet, run!—on the road God called you to travel. I don’t want any of you sitting around on your hands. I don’t want anyone strolling off, down some path that goes nowhere. And mark that you do this with humility and discipline—not in fits and starts, but steadily, pouring yourselves out for each other in acts of love, alert at noticing differences and quick at mending fences.”

So, which part pleases me about my dog?  All of it.

Which part pleases God about us?  All of it.  Every part of our life is pleasing to God when we go all out for Him.

So let me encourage you today, run hard, bark loud and sit.  It gives God joy to watch you be who you are.