Meet our two dogs, Tucker (on the left) and Sadie. Both are Golden Retrievers from the same breeder but from different bloodlines. Tucker is the well-mannered, calm, [more] obedient one and has outgrown chewing everything in sight. He reminds us of Shadow in Homeward Bound: calm, composed, patient, and wise. Sadie spends every waking moment at full throttle. Always bouncing off the walls, she is impulsive, hard to contain, and forever in trouble for chewing something else to shreds. Unquestionably ADHD. She reminds us of Chance in Homeward Bound. She inhales her entire bowl of dry dog food in 20 to 30 seconds. I am not kidding.
Last Friday both dogs escaped. They were gone all weekend and the sadness grew each day. We looked and looked and put “Lost Dog” signs up all over the place. Nothing. On Monday I called the County Animal Shelter. Great news! They’d been found and brought in! And for a few greenbacks each they could be ours again.
A few greenbacks, huh? How many are we talking here?
Now I hate to admit it, but I had second and third thoughts about “redeeming” one of our dogs–I won’t mention which one. I mean, how much more sane our lives would be! I mentioned to Barb this idea of just picking up one dog. She said it was “tempting.” And we’d be saving money, too!
Well, don’t worry, we ended up paying for and picking up both dogs. But now that Miss Mayhem is back and going full tilt, I’m asking myself, “What was I thinking?”
Here’s where I’m going with this. I was practicing conditional redemption toward my dogs. One has pleasing behavior and a more likable personality, so I was inclined to redeem that one but not the other.
Aren’t you glad the Lord Jesus did not redeem us on the basis of our condition? either on how good we were or how likely we were to improve?
Ephesians 1:3-14 is one of the places where God’s plan for our redemption is spelled out. Read this again carefully, because there we find nothing at all about conditional redemption. It was His love, kindness, and grace that initiated our redemption and adoption. Who we were or who we’d become made us not one bit more inviting or repulsive to Him.
Whenever I take a good look at me I hear myself saying, Thank You, Lord, for Your incredible, inexhaustible grace. You chose me knowing full well how wretched I was. And You redeemed me knowing how miserably I’d progress toward Christ-likeness. But You took me anyway. Thank You, Thank You, Thank You!
Blessings,
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