What a Good Boy!

I am constantly lavishing praises on my poor beagle. Whenever he catches my eye or captures my attention, he gets a pat or a kiss on the head, and I invariably find myself saying "What a good boy!" For some reason, the repetitiveness of this task never becomes tiresome for me (or him!), nor do I ever stop to question the absurdity of attributing moral perfection to an animal incapable of eternal life.

As ridiculous as my behavior is, I thank God that my dog is the only one to which I do this. Telling a dog he is a good boy is harmless. Telling a person that he or is a "good boy" is the ultimate act of cruelty.

Surprisingly, at one time in my life, I would have favorably compared the relationship between my dog and myself to my relationship with God. I considered myself, like my dog, loyal and affectionate to my Creator, and, even though I liked to eat and sleep a lot, I could instantly be friendly when called upon. I think the reason that this analogy can work so well is because there is so little that we require of our pets -- we are extremely easy to please, per se. But it is not so with the God of Creation! He is a righteous and Holy God. He is so completely and utterly UNable to be in the presence of sin that even the smallest offense is capable of sending us to eternal damnation.

A more appropriate comparison, although still desperately lacking in degree, would be this: When walking in your house to greet your dog, he promptly bites you on the leg. After removing his death grip from your calf, and securing him in a cage, you look around and see that not only has he chewed up all the pillows on your bed, but he has rifled through your pantry, broken your grandmother's vase, and has defecated and thrown up on your carpet. No amount of training on your part will entreat your dog to change his behavior and you are faced with the same gloomy prospect, day after day, of his bent towards aggression and his insistence on destroying your property.

To a much greater degree, we are the same rebellious, stubborn subjects of a Holy God. We have heaped up our sins towards him when we have lied -- even if it has been a small lie, or it was done long time ago in the past. We have offended Him every time we have stolen, whether it was a candy bar or a paper clip. We all have committed adultery in some way, whether it was by sex outside the sanctions of marriage or by a lingering, lustful look at a stranger or friend. In God's eyes we have even murdered, when we display bitterness or hatefulness towards others. And those are only four of the Ten Commandments. But most of all, we have not given God the honor He deserves by knowing Him and worshipping Him for who He is, and He has every right one day when we face His judgment to send us to Hell for our sins.

The good news is God sent his Son so that the punishment you deserve would be upon Him. He paid a great price for you by suffering and dying on the cross. He defeated death by rising from the grave, so that you could experience eternal life. Once you humbly realize your depravity before God, your mind can be changed. "For if a man thinks himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself." (Galatians 6:3) You can repent (turn away from your sin), trust in God to save you, and God will give you not only the strength and the will to follow Him, but He will give you eternal life! "God's precious and magnificent promises, along with His divine power grant to us everything pertaining to life and godliness" (2 Pet. 1:3, 4)

Then, and only then, can the Master lavish His love on us by saying, "You are a good boy!" , not of ourselves, but because we are wearing the robes of righteousness that Jesus has given us. "In Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form, and in Him you have been made complete." (Col. 2:9, 10).