Tag Archives: Molly

MOLLY AND ME – TRANSFORMED

Christian Life, , ,

When play is done for the day, toilet parade and garden inspection over and she feels mellow and sleepy, Molly loves to lie on my lap with her head on my tummy and gaze into my face with complete adoration in her soft brown eyes. I always respond with words like, “You are so beautiful. You are so sweet. You are my treasure. You are precious to me. I love you, my little one…”

A few weeks ago, I was lying awake during the night when two Scriptures invaded my mind:

“Without holiness, no one will see the Lord”, and “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.”  

I pondered these words for a while, wondering what the Holy Spirit wanted to say to me. I understand that to “see” God is not about literal seeing, nor is it about seeing God in the afterlife. What was the Lord saying to me?

David had a heart after God and, when he heard the voice of the Lord calling him to seek His face, he eagerly responded with the words, “Your face, Lord, I will seek.” (Psalm 27:8 – NIV). Since we cannot literally see God’s face, what did David mean? To see the face of God is to contemplate His greatness and His attributes, but even more than that, to respond to who He is by acting in ways that resemble Him.

God’s character can be summed up in one word – generosity. God is outrageously generous in who He is and in everything He does. “Righteousness” and “generosity” are often used interchangeably in the Scriptures. God’s righteousness is expressed in lavish generosity and wants us to treat others in the same way as He treats us.

In Hebrew thought, generosity is a duty demanded of us, but our generosity towards others should never out of a heart of benevolence towards those who are less fortunate than we are. It should be our response of gratitude to God’s overflowing generosity towards us.

However, to “see” God goes even further than that. The Hebrews had a word for the kind of generosity that goes beyond our duty – zikkut. It means doing more than is expected of us – simply because of who we are – God’s children who are made in His image and have His nature. To see God implies acting out of the very nature of God, i.e., experiencing the depth of His compassionate heart towards those in need.

Then another thought came to me as I pondered this “message” from the Lord. What about the Scripture that says:

“So all of us, with faces unveiled, see as in a mirror the glory of the Lord; and we are being changed into His very image, from one degree of glory to the next, by ADONAI the Spirit.” (2 Cor. 3:18 – COMPLETE JEWISH BIBLE)

I have chosen this translation because it accurately reflects the words of the original Greek text.

Slowly, the meaning of these words began to dawn on me. The Holy Spirit is not calling us to gaze at (or contemplate) Jesus in this text, but to gaze at His image in us. When we look into a mirror, we see our own reflection. So, too, as we gaze into the mirror of God’s word, we see the image of Jesus reflecting back at us. As I look into the face of my dog, I see something beautiful and precious in her that causes me to speak the words of love and blessing.

So, too, as I gaze at the image of Jesus in me – “Christ in me, the hope of glory”, I hear the words of Jesus expressing to me all that I am to Him. In Solomon’s love song to his bride, which mirrors the song of Jesus to His heavenly bride, he says to her:

“Everything about you is beautiful, my love: you are without a flaw.” (Song of Solomon 4:7 – COMPLETE JEWISH BIBLE)

As I speak my words of love to Molly, although she is only an animal, the more beautiful and precious she becomes to me.

So, too, I become what I look at. No longer do I see myself as weak, frail and flawed but as the very image of Jesus who, by His Spirit, is transforming me, one day at a time, into that image.

MOLLY AND ME – RETURN

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I recently took a trip to Johannesburg to visit my son and daughter-in-law for a few days. I arranged with a friend to “dog-sit” Molly rather than put her in the kennels. My friend happens to have a nine-month-old dachshund puppy who is great friends with my Molly. Molly has an exaggerated maternal instinct although she has not had puppies and, to her, Layla was a rambunctious creature who needed training and discipline!

Despite their companionship during the day, Molly missed me terribly. My friend sent a picture of her sitting on the couch, staring at the front door as though she expected me to walk through it at any moment. In the evenings, she settled herself on my friend’s lap, under the red “blankie” which had my smell on it, as if to reassure herself that I was near.

I missed her too. I missed her warm little body next to me in bed and her happy little presence in the home, squeaking her ball or nestling on my lap when it was cold. I counted the days to my return, just to see her joy when she heard my voice and saw me at the door.

Is that how Jesus feels about our physical separation from Him? Oh, I know we have His presence with us by His Spirit, and even in us, but does He long for the day when He can hold us in His arms and we can talk to each other face to face? Does He count the days until He hears the Father say, “Go, my Son, and claim your bride.”

Although Molly was well cared for and loved by her foster mom, nothing, not even a favourite ball, could compensate for my presence with her. On my first night home, she could not creep close enough to me in the bed. All she wanted to do was to be cuddled against me so that she could feel me near her.

Do we miss the presence of Jesus so much that we stare at the sky, waiting for Him to appear? Do we ache for Him, just to be near Him and to hear His voice?

I told my friend to tell Molly, every night, that I would be home after so many sleeps… four sleeps…three sleeps…two sleeps…one sleep… then, finally the day arrived when I flew home to her.

Jesus said He would return. We don’t know how many sleeps until He comes, but we can be certain, because He promised, that He will return, and then we will never be apart from Him again.

 

MOLLY AND ME – GAZING

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How many times does Molly lie on my lap and gaze intently at me, her little brown eyes fastened on my face with pure adoration shining from them!

Molly is now almost two years old, reckoned to be an adult in dog years. She still does naughty things sometimes.

I have been training her to come to me when I whistle for her. She has a habit of barking at the front gate when I take her out at night to carry out her inspection of the boundary walls for any stray geckoes that might still be around. She only responds to my whistle when she knows there’s a treat waiting for her when she presents herself to me inside the house.

She has learned that if she barks incessantly to annoy me, she’ll get a treat if she responds to my whistle! Now she has to un-learn that her naughtiness produces pleasant results.

However, no matter how naughty she is and how annoyed I get with her, I cannot resist that look of adoration in her eyes when she gazes at me.

In Psalm 27:4, 8, David expresses his desire to seek the face of God and to gaze at His beauty in His tabernacle.

One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek, that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life , to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek Him in His temple.

My heart says of you, “Seek His face!” Your face, LORD, I will seek.

Unlike me, whose face bears the marks of age and decay, the face of God (His nature in all its beauty) will never suffer the ravages of aging. Unlike Molly who will never look like me, when I gaze at (contemplate) the glory of the Lord, I am told in 2 Cor.4:18, I am being transformed into His likeness from one degree of glory to another by the Spirit of the Lord.

 

MOLLY AND ME – REST

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Molly’s favourite spot in the early morning, when I have made my coffee and settled myself in my recliner under my red “blankie”, is on my lap under the blanket. She goes to sleep again, content as a baby at its mother’s breast.

She is a very active little dog, but there are times during the day when she needs the reassurance of my lap, her warm little body resting on my legs. She relaxes with a sigh and goes to sleep like switching off a light. An hour or so later she wakes up, refreshed and ready for another excursion in the garden to chase the same ball or hunt the same “aliens” she hunted yesterday and the day before.

Rest! When Molly is on my lap, she is completely at rest.

She makes me think of the big subject of rest in the Bible. How often God calls us to rest in Him. We still have, buried deep in the old nature, the idea that God is only happy when we are “working” for Him.

I had a months-long struggle to come to terms with the fact that God was okay with my retirement. Day after day, I struggled with the guilt of not being actively involved in some or other “ministry” to prove my worth as a child of God.

Time and again, as I read through the Scriptures, I was reminded that God calls His children to a rest of faith. It’s not what I can do for Him that has any value, but what He has done for me, both in sending Jesus to take my place on the cross so that I could receive His gift of righteousness, and in supplying everything I need to live a godly life.

I reread the story of David who had been made king over all Israel after seven years of rule over Judah and Benjamin. When he had brought the Ark of the Covenant back to Jerusalem and settled in his palace, he expressed to Nathan, the prophet, his desire to build a permanent place for the Ark.

Nathan encouraged him to follow his dream, but the Lord told him to tell David that He had never been dissatisfied with the tabernacle as a resting place for His presence. Instead, He pledged to build a “house” for David, a permanent dynasty that would continue until one came who would rule on David’s throne forever.

David was reminded that God was taking the initiative, not him, to build the house. David was once again overwhelmed with the goodness of God. It was all about Him. He would choose the one to build His house. David’s response was a grateful, “Do as you have said.”

How often, when we think we have done something remarkable for God, does it turn out that God has done something even more remarkable for us! Let us never think for a moment that God is beholden to us for anything.

How much better it is to settle down on the Father’s lap and rest in His love and goodness which He pours on us freely for no reason at all other than He loves us. My prayers in the morning, with Molly on my lap as a reminder, are peppered with times of resting in the love, goodness and favour of God, asking for nothing but grateful for the joy and privilege of being His daughter, holy and beloved because of His grace.

Life is too full of struggles and conflicts to allow them to intrude into our fellowship with the Father. He calls us to rest in the rough and tumble of life in a fallen world, and we would be foolish not to accept His invitation gladly and gratefully. There is no place more secure and peaceful than in the eternal love of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

 

MOLLY AND ME – SUBMISSION

Christian Life, ,

Going “walkies” is the highlight of Molly’s day. We go out in all weathers. So far, we have walked in sunshine, in rain, in howling gales… but not in thunderstorms. I would rather risk Molly’s wrath than the fury from the skies. Thankfully, Molly is terrified of thunder!

However, the weather isn’t the problem – Molly is. Although she submits reluctantly to the harness and leash, on the inside she is pure self-will. She reminds me of the story of the toddler who insisted on standing up in his feeding chair. The more his mother demanded that he sit down, the more he resisted.  When she finally threatened him with dire consequences if he did not obey, he reluctantly sat down, but he retorted, “I still standin’ up inside!”

We set off at a cracking pace, Molly taking the lead by galloping ahead or pulling this way and that. The whole journey up the hill to our turning point is punctuated with stops to investigate this smell or that pole with the brakes fully on on all four paws. It’s the signal for me to stop and wait for her to complete her investigation. Sometimes, we even have to retrace our steps to check on something she inadvertently missed!

As for the people we pass by on the way, Molly would take a bite at each of them if given half a chance. Unfortunately, she does not take well to strangers, not matter what the colour of their skin. Without the control of the reins, we would both be in jail by now!

What should be an enjoyable ramble along a familiar path becomes a stop-start, go this way, pull that way, smell this , sample that trip, with me being the vigilant dog-owner doing my best to keep her away from all the hazards of the way. I envy those I occasionally pass who form an amiable dog-master partnership with the dog trotting obediently by his master’s side with only a light touch on the leash.

Again, how like Molly we are on our journey through life! Instead of walking with God in peaceful trust and submission, we run this way and that, pulling at the leash to follow our own way and expecting Him to go where we want to go. Adam began the whole process by believing the devil’s lie that he was capable of choosing what was good for him regardless of his loving Father’s warning.

Abraham began his journey with the Lord by being a “Molly”. His half-hearted obedience brought a great deal of trouble on his head. It took him a lifetime to learn to submit to the will of God without deviating and with perfect confidence in the God who knows best.

Only on our homeward way does Molly settle down and trot beside me, making at least part of the exercise pleasurable for both of us. The trouble is that, by the next afternoon she has forgotten what she learned the day before, and the process begins all over again.

I have been on this journey with the Lord for some 52 years and, as I look at the way I have come, I realise with regret that I could have saved myself a great deal of trouble had I trusted Him and not insisted on my own way. Only now, at the age of 77, am I convinced that submission to the “harness and leash” of God’s will is the safest and best way to go.

The peace that guards my heart and mind is the guarantee that, no matter what happens and even no matter how many mistakes I make, He works in all things for my good so that I am being conformed to the image of His Son (Romans 8:28-29).

Molly doesn’t understand my language and, unfortunately, I don’t speak “dog” so, I guess, we will continue our battle of wills for a long time to come.

However, to us humans the Lord says,

“I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you. Don’t be like a senseless horse or mule that needs a bit and bridle to keep it under control.” (Psalm 32:8-9 – NLT)