Tonight after dinner I was hanging out with some good friends, Matt and JL. We went out to this pretty cool spot near the happening city of Joan, Arkansas where there is this clear lake fishing area that is beautiful at night. I guess we were just going to hang out and chew the far for a while.
Then, as Matt brought his truck to a stop (JL and I were the in the bed of the truck), we noticed some small animal following the truck and running up to us when we were stopped. I was really hoping it wasn’t some rabid raccoon or something. Actually, it was a puppy…a cute one, too; part lab, part something else. We quickly noticed that there was another puppy just a few feet from where we had parked. But he was dead. And there were two kittens eating at his flesh. Sorry I had to throw that in there, but it’s true.
Our hearts were broken at the thought that someone could irresponsibly leave these adorable animals out in the woods somewhere to fend for themselves. So Matt, JL, and I made the decision to take the puppy home to my apartment, leaving the kittens there (since cats are naturally independent and more adapt to being scavengers than dogs). We knew that the puppy wouldn’t stand much of a chance out there.
At first, though he came up to us out of curiosity and no doubt a chance to be rescued, he kept jumping out of the truck (I think that the sound of the engine frightened him). So we held him until we got to my apartment. JL went to the store to get the puppy some food while Matt and I gave him a bath and removed some ticks. He was very good in the bath and only whimpered a little bit when I removed the ticks from him (heck, I used to cry like a baby when my mom did that to me!).
Matt and I decided that he needed a name. Considering the circumstances surrounding us finding him, he named him “Chance”. We dried him off and let him walk around a little bit until JL got there with the food. He ate like a madman. So then, after chilling for a while, we decided to go to Matt’s to watch a movie. I mentioned that we should let Chance walk. “Without a leash?” said Matt. “Yeah”, I said. So we walked…and sure enough, Chance followed us around like a lost child, which I guess he was.
We watched some old SNL re-runs featuring Will Ferrell. And then we came back to my apartment tonight. Tomorrow morning, I’m going to take him to the Humane Society. I wish him the best.
Now - I didn’t write this to warm your heart (though it is a wonderful story, right?). I wrote it because I recognize in this story concerning Matt, JL, Chance, and me a huge parallel to the love of Christ as revealed in the Gospel:
Here Chance was starving and quickly on his way to a certain death when my friends and I happened along. He saw his “chance” for rescue and ran to us. We took him in, bathed him, fed him, and gave him a new name. And not once since has he let us out of his sight. Not once.
Here it is I was broken and depraved and quickly on my way to Hell when Christ happened along. I saw my chance for rescue and ran to Him. And indeed, He took me in to Himself, cleaned me off, fed me with His word, and made me a new creation.
But from here, the parallel stops. I wish that I could say that I was as faithful to follow my Savior as Chance was to follow Matt, JL, and me. But still, I fall away.
Chance saw his opportunity for rescue…and he hasn’t yet let go. I doubt he will. Ha ha…isn’t that funny?! A puppy gets it. And I still don’t. I think I might need to humble myself and become more like Chance.
SRay
