Free Love

Double post today - I found this in my draft file and thought I would post it just because...

Just about three years ago, our family was blessed (at least that's what I think most of the time...) with a mostly purebred yellow lab puppy. (She's mostly pure because she's not entirely pure, but who really cares...) Her name is Zoe. She loves to play fetch, go for walks, swim in any open water and "wrestle", although that part only happens with me. She is a loving, gentle and friendly dog who only barks at our neighbor Tom and only when he's in his back yard

I'm convincecd that God uses anything and everything to teach us the key lessons of life as He chooses. In the last few weeks, God has used Zoe to remind of some key components of His love. The first is that His love is free. In the same way that someone else paid the price for Zoe, God's love comes to us for free. It can't be earned or bought. It comes simply because He is God and He chooses to love us as we are, where we are and for who we are.

The second lesson of late is that love grows as a result of investment. We've invested in Zoe as a family. We've taken her for shots, fed her, walked her, put her in puppy classes, play with her and last but not least, clean up after her. Our investment pales in comparison to what God has done for us, but there are some striking similarities. Think about this in the same way that we look after Zoe, God looks after us. He cares for us, provides for us, engages us in so many ways and He constantly cleans up our many "messes". I'm thankful for all that He does, but I really appreciate the way He cleans up the messes I've made. (How about you?)

The final lesson for me is that love is about In my eyes, there aren't many dogs smarter, brighter or better than Zoe. To me, she's the ultimate dog. That's exactly how God sees you, me and everyone else. In Max Lucado's book, "The Applause of Heaven", he writes about how as we are running the race of life, God joins in with the great crowd of witnesses in Heb 12, rises to His feet and cheers for us by name. In Zepheniah the Bible says He "dances over us with singing". Pretty cool to think that God dances over you isn't it?