We’ve considered installing a doggy door in our house – you know, those little free-swinging flaps that enable dogs to let themselves in and out all day. Our heating/cooling bill might surpass the budgets of some developing nations, but our dog, Winston, would certainly be a happy camper.
It seems our attention-deficient dog just can’t seem to decide where he wants to be most of the time. The only thing we ever know for sure about what Winston wants is this: He wants to be wherever he’s not.
While blessed with immense cuteness (he’s a wrinkly shar-pei, arguably the supermodels of the doggy world), Winston has some extremely annoying habits, one being his relentless desire to relocate. If he’s in, he wants out; if he’s out, he wants in. And he’s anything but shy about making his wishes known.
If Winston wants to go out, he gets in my personal space, shakes his head and whines incessantly until I let him out into his backyard kingdom. If he’s outside, Winston uses his mysterious super doggy powers to discern when I am comfortably parked on the couch; THEN, and only THEN, he decides he wants to come in. To summon me to the door, Winston glares in, whines, barks, and if he doesn’t get a response within what he considers a reasonable time, he begins to rhythmically rake his toenails across the glass.
To be Winston’s master is to be doomed to utter servitude.
“Why didn’t you train him better?” some of you may be wondering.
Don’t talk to me about dog training. If I could find it, I’d be using Winston’s dog obedience course diploma for a target on the dart board in our basement. The obedience class was good and the teacher was excellent, but the student was incorrigible and the master less than diligent.
Hence, life with Winston can be quite exasperating, and nothing vexes me more than my dog’s deep-seated and nearly constant desire to be somewhere other than where he is.
It makes me wonder if that’s how God feels sometimes when He sees so many of us waffling around about whether or not we want to embrace Him and the life He desires for us. We want in … we want out … we want back in … we want out again … and we miss the incredible, abundant blessings of a steady, trusting relationship with God.
God has some strong words for Winston-like Christians. Ever taken a swig of lukewarm coffee that’s been sitting in a mug too long? That’s the picture God paints of wishy-washy Christians in Revelation 3:16 – “I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm–neither hot nor cold–I am about to spit you out of my mouth.”
I don’t know what it would feel like to be spit out of God’s mouth, but it sure doesn’t sound like anything I want to sign up for. Seems like God is saying what I say to Winston many times a day: “Please commit – get in or get out.”
But make no mistake about it — God isn’t as indecisive as we are. He knows what He wants for us, and He wants us in, all the way, all the time. Why? Because He loves us and He knows that’s where all the good stuff is.
I don’t think there are any doggy doors in God’s kingdom.