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Loving the Bulldogs to Christ June 18, 2007 By Shirley McDonald
When my grand-dog Biggio (a beautiful English bulldog about 18 months old) comes to visit, we often romp and play in the backyard. In Louisiana, it doesn’t take long for both of us to be hot and thirsty—me because I am out of shape (and old!); Biggio because English Bulldogs cannot take extended periods of time in the heat. Their flat face restricts air; so they are more susceptible to heat stroke than breeds with long noses. Also, his short legs must support that 53 pounds of body while he is running (and can he run fast!).
When we come inside, however, even though he is panting and obviously needs water, Biggio may not immediately drink water from his bowl. (If he won’t drink water, then I feed him crushed ice.) I wondered why he wouldn’t drink water when he was so obviously in need of it. Then Jaime enlightened me.
Biggio is by nature timid. Even though he looks ferocious and could crush almost anything with those huge jaws (they were originally bred for bull-baiting), he does not like new situations, and it takes a while for him to become comfortable in an environment away from his routine. By lowering his face to the water bowl to drink water, Biggio would not be able to see what was around him. He simply did not yet feel safe enough to risk being vulnerable—he has to be prepared in case a threat is near.
Sometimes we Christians do not understand why others do not partake of the living water (John 4:10-14) provided by Christ—even when it is obvious they are thirsty for God. Watching Biggio, I realized why. For some reason, these people just do not feel ready to risk placing themselves in a vulnerable situation where they give up control of their lives to God. Instead of criticizing them or giving up, we should make them feel loved (remember the crushed ice I feed Biggio?) until they no longer feel afraid and will drink long and deeply of the living water.
ninetyandnine.com
© 2007, Shirley McDonald
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Shirley McDonald enjoys visits from her grandchildren and grand-dog. If you like, she can send you hundreds of pictures and talk about them for days—all of them really are beautiful and, of course, far above average!
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