I frequently run into folks who ask me how my dog Winston is doing. Winston is the occasional subject of the columns I write, primarily because he has proven to be a veritable gold mine of spiritual lessons about how NOT to live.
When asked about my dog, my usual reply is something like, “Winston is…Winston. Still chasing squirrels, still cute, still crazy.”
But sadly, that’s no longer true. Oh, Winston is still cute and crazy, but his squirrel-chasing days seem to be over. He can now only sit and watch the varmints run amok in his kingdom.
Winston hurt his back a few months ago. We don’t know how or even exactly when, but his injury was not too surprising since he routinely shot out the back door and off our deck like a nuclear missile whenever he spied a squirrel in his yard.
Many vet bills later, Winston still can’t use his back legs. He’s quite buff around the chest and has gotten very adept at dragging himself around with his front legs, but it’s sad to see. Our dog is but a shadow of his former glorious, leaping self.
Every time I look at Winston, I’m reminded that far from guaranteeing a smooth sail through this life, Jesus let us know up front that we would have to deal with tribulation (John 16:33).
Shoot. I hate tribulation. In fact, life could sometimes seem downright unbearable if all we had were these few decades on planet Earth. Some of you believe it is, and I feel sorry for you. Honestly, I don’t know how you get up every morning.
It’s sad to watch my poor dog drag himself around, but that angst is small potatoes, indeed, compared to the pain of losing a child, or the heartbreak of a broken marriage, or the desperation of an existence defined by poverty, disease and violence.
Christian author/speaker Steve Brown wrote, “If the unbelieving world is right…there is only what is – a lonely road between hospitals. You are born in one and you die in the other.”
Hospital to hospital — what a depressing thought. Steve Brown doesn’t believe that’s all there is, and neither do I. No, I believe I’ll take some hope with the hearty portion of tribulation this fallen world serves up — hope that can only be found in the sure promises of God through Jesus Christ.
Know what God calls life on this side of heaven? A vapor. (James 4:14). Like a short blast from a can of hairspray. If we’re honest, most of us have a nagging sense that this life isn’t IT — there’s something better up ahead.
And there is, for those who’ve embraced the grace of God offered through Christ.
As God’s redeemed children, we don’t wither up and become shadows of our FORMER, “glorious” selves; instead, we anticipate and edge ever closer to our FUTURE, glorious selves. We’ve never been what we will become. “New and improved” doesn’t even begin to describe it.
If dogs go to heaven, Winston will enjoy an endless supply of tennis balls and sanctified squirrels to chase. I don’t know exactly what I’ll be doing, but I know it will be beyond fun, beyond fulfilling, beyond amazing.
I wouldn’t miss it for the world. How about you?
“These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.” – Jesus Christ (John 16:33)