About six weeks ago we welcomed a new member to our family.  It may actually be better to say now that I welcomed this addition.  Someone dropped a very small puppy off in our area where she found shelter across the street.  My family told me about it so I wandered over to check on her.  Turns out she was barely weaned at that point.  Seems like she was barely as large as my hand which isn't too huge.  It's been awhile since we had a pet.  Our cat ran off a few years ago without giving two weeks notice.  People kept asking me what the new puppy would be called.  My view is that a name has to grow on you so it fits.  After awhile my mind remembered the name of Pokey from the old children's book.  So our new resident became Pokey.  This name does not fit her at all now.  She is many things but pokey is not one of them.

What was once an adorable, tiny creature is now becoming a terror.  Chewing up stuff is one of her primary hobbies.  She also wants to attack anyone who simply walks across the floor.  Her mind must think that just going through the house is an invitation to play.  There is indeed barking involved also.  Most of her noise is aimed at me while playing.  Resentment must be a part of this since it happens when I refuse to let her dine upon my hand.  No doubt the final straw is she is a walking bladder.  Surely she has the entire yard as well as too much of the house marked as her own.  Most days involve at least one good mop around the house.  Raising a puppy does tend to make for exceptional housekeeping.  I am now the only one who will give her attention.  Everyone else usually just yells at her.  No matter how much you remind the others that she is a puppy it goes unappreciated.  She is just doing what puppies do.

The nature of a puppy is to be noisy, messy and a work in progress.  Taking the time to train them often seems pointless.  What we forget is a puppy is just doing what comes naturally.  His or her brain operates on a far different wavelength than ours.  We see old shoes while they see something to be fought.  We see time as something for resting while they see our sitting down as an invitation to play.  We see floors as important to stay clean when they see the need to mark their turf.  Much of our time is spent wishing we could get them to view our world in our perspective.  Our mind reels as to why they act as they do.  Trying to communicate with this ball of energy is a one step forward then two step back affair.  If only they would be more like us this world would be safer if not much cleaner.

You can probably see the point already.  Our nature determines so much of our spiritual life.  Who we are is crucial to what we do.  The great struggle is much the same for us as for my puppy.  What is our nature as followers of Jesus?  Far too many react to those around them from that old personality unchanged by grace.  Fingers get pointed.  Accusations are tossed about.  Messes get made from either our lack of activity or doing something in very selfish ways.  Jesus told us in Matthew 25 that our behavior matters greatly to God as well as to others.  He went so far as to suggest that our character is of far more significance to God than it often is to us.  We already live in a world that usually operates at the level of the least common denominator.  Our nature is to be shaped by the Spirit as our heart becomes new.  We can either make our world a better place or just make messes.  Too often we choose the latter over the former.  Allow your nature to be remade in God's image.  You need this just as much as do others who can be blessed by your efforts. 

Bro. Trey