The Special of the Day… From the Orange Moon Cafe…
(Friends, as I finished this, a text came in from a dear former neighbor who moved away last year to let us know her dear dog Roxie passed away last week. I know you will pray for Ralph and Renee in the loss of their beloved pet, who so beautifully illustrated the theme of this message.)
"The Measure of Pleasure"
Nearly every dog owner will attest to one of the most wonderful experiences in the relationship involving responses after separation. Be it an hour away, or days, weeks, months, or even years, the joy of a dog in his master or mistresses' return is… well, having been blessed as a lifelong dog owner by so many moments, I have no words to describe the joy.
"The prayer of the upright is His delight" (Micah 7:18).
If "the invisible things of Him from the creation of world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made," we can surely surmise that moments of canine joy reflect the joyful response we elicit in God when we relate to Him through the Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 1:20). "The Lord taketh pleasure in His people" declared the Psalmist (Psalm 149:4). This raises questions that illuminate us simply in the asking. What is the measure of pleasure in the heart of an infinite, eternal Being? How deep are the feelings of the One who made emotion? Can any created being's experience of joy begin to compare with that of his Creator? Regarding the current consideration, can it be that our response to God literally delights His heart?
I often think of this when coming home to our beagle Ellie's obvious thrill and happiness in our return. Can it be that our Father reveals something of Himself in the unmitigated joy we see in Ellie? (and every other dog we have ever owned). After so many of these moments, and after finding in the Scriptures that God loves human hearts to the degree He sacrificed His beloved Son to redeem us unto relationship with Himself, I have no doubt in the matter. I do grieve, however, because after long believing this sublime truth, I still too often forget that through Christ, I possess the capacity to delight the heart of God by relating to Him. More questions arise. How can it be that we have such a place, such a place of grace, in His heart? How do former rebels become such "dear children" to the Father? (Ephesians 5:1). How vast is the scope and span of the most familiar of all Biblical declarations - "For God so loved the world?" How can it be that your prayers and mine delight the heart of our Lord?
The answers, never to be fully known, lie in the Spirit of God, the Word of God, the church of God, the creation of God, and yes, in the exuberant exhilaration those blessed to own dogs experience when we turn our attention toward them. I think of this when hearing sounds of joy before we even enter the house after being away. Ellie first races toward my wife Frances (of course!), and then to me, greeting us with sheer delight. Most importantly, Ellie bears messages from the Maker she so beautifully represents and reflects. "I have loved thee with an everlasting love" said the Lord to Israel long ago, and which He surely echoes to all who trust Him (Jeremiah 31:3). Ellie and so many others of her species tell us this, encouraging us to remember the joy - the infinite measure of pleasure - our Father knows when we turn our hearts toward Him.
"And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him."
(Luke 15:20; emphasis added)
"Furthermore then we beseech you, brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus, that as ye have received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God, so ye would abound more and more."
(I Thessalonians 4:1)
Weekly Memory Verse
And it is yet far more evident: for that after the similitude of Melchizedec there ariseth another priest, who is made, not after the law of a carnal commandment, but after the power of an endless life.
(Hebrews 7:15-16)
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