Are you willing to be a dog?
I normally do not have a dog in the house. Recently I have been ‘dog sitting’ and I have noticed how they operate. They can be asleep on the other side of the house and if I pick up any piece of food, within seconds the dog is under me looking for any opportunity to get just a crumb. When I noticed this I thought of the following passage:
The Faith of a Canaanite Woman
Leaving that place, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is demon-possessed and suffering terribly.” Jesus did not answer a word. So his disciples came to him and urged him, “Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us.” He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.” The woman came and knelt before him. “Lord, help me!” she said. He replied, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.” “Yes it is, Lord,” she said. “Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.” Then Jesus said to her, “Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.” And her daughter was healed at that moment. Matthew 15: 21-28
Jesus always seemed very excited when he had people show faith. In the above passage, at the time of this story, the Jewish people are the children of God and everyone else are the dogs. As a dog, this lady claimed her portion and God noticed that this was true faith in her. Jesus also knew how this was going to play out; and I believe that He was trying to teach his disciples something as well.
Dogs look for any crumb they can get and are very thankful for it. They are relentless and have no shame in whatever they get.
Are you willing to grovel for God’s grace? Are you accepting of what God gives you and are you willing to make it not about you but rather about serving the Master? Are you willing to take a moment in all of your busy painful life and thank God for all He has done? Even if it is small crumbs?
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