Rescue

A couple of Saturdays ago Jon and I had to go to Petsmart to get Buddy’s expensive food with avocado for his coat. When we arrived, they had a German Shepherd rescue display out front.
‘Let’s just go look’, I said.
“ OK ,but remember you can not have another dog. The one you have now is aging and needs lots of care .”
“ I’m just going to look. They are so beautiful”.
To be honest, if I did not have Buddy, I would have come home with a new dog. Each one was so lovely and needed a loving home, ME!
I read their names and wondered what had brought them to this place in their lives that they have been given up or abandoned by their previous owners. Who could give away such incredibly handsome dogs???
I finally had to tear myself away and go into the store to get the dog food I had come for. But, in the tradition of my family who all cry easily, I wept as I walked through the store.
“ I hope that no one talks to me”, I said to Jon. Sniff, sniff.
On the way out to my car, I glanced that way again but had to hurry , lest I break out into full blown sobbing.
Jon was anxious to get me home, dog less, since our daughter had rescued dear Bob last year from the pet store and Jon was afraid I was about to follow suit.
A couple of days later I came across a passage in the New Testament that says that God rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and brought us home to the kingdom of his dear Son, Jesus. I guess that God wept over us and could not leave us where we were, with no one to care for us and defend us . His was the giant rescue that was priceless in cost. But not free. It cost the life of Jesus. Imagine God wanting what the world had abandoned and being willing to pay the highest price.

Lost

Yesterday my daughter lost her beloved Bob. Not that he died but that he got out the gate and ran like the greyhound that he is. Funny that the other dogs just looked around and went back in the yard. But not Bob. He was up for an adventure.
And so the search began. Canvassing the neighborhood, calling and crying. Even talking to complete strangers, in case they had seen this wee one. At 6 pounds he would be easy to miss. Then repeat the process adding fliers, posting on Craig’s list, calling animal control and local vets. All to no avail.
As it got dark and cold, no Bob was found, despite superhuman efforts. Truth be told, one someone cried all night long over the loss of dear Bob.
But the new day brought a call from a lady who had found Bob on her front porch cold and hungry. She had seen one of the fliers and so the family was reunited. Then we got the call,
“ Bob is home and safe in my arms.”
Now, he is scraped up and ravenous but hopefully the wanderlust is gone from this adventurer.
If his owners had not persisted, he would still be lost.
In Luke 15 Jesus told a parable about lost things. Lost coins, lost sheep and lost son. In each case, the searcher never gave up until the item was found. The point was that this was a series of three pictures of how God searches for his lost children. Often, like Bob, they either don’t know they are lost and don’t know how they got lost. But God, like my daughter, never gives up until they are safe in his arms.
Welcome home Bob.
God waits to welcome you too, friend.