The righteous care for the needs of their animals, but the kindest acts of the wicked are cruel. Proverbs 12:10 NIV
I was transporting two ten year old dogs to foster care to prepare them for adoption. Kasey was diabetic and some of the drivers had to give her insulin injections over the three day journey. She had a regular eating regime to keep her sugar levels in the normal range. Penny was due to undergo a dental exam upon arrival at her new home.
While driving, I heard Joni Eareckson Tada talking about service animals on the radio. It is National Service Animal Week and September is National Service Dog Month. She used the verse in Proverbs to honor those who tend to the needs of their animals. Many pet parents perform loving acts each day to care for their pets. Whether you are a pooper scooper, provide food, water, deliver belly rubs and games of fetch or attend the medical needs of a special needs pet, the bible calls you righteous. Simple acts of love and kindness to an animal is not a given in the world we live in but it is honored by God.
Service pets provide much-needed companionship, confidence and assistance to their humans. Seeing eye dogs provide sight to the blind, helping to perform tasks otherwise difficult to complete without the aid of their furry leaders. Others help their masters overcome illness and many serve alongside their humans in the military. Many service animals are decorated veterans.
The radio program told of how one blind friend had her service dog selected for her. The trainers first walked on a leash themselves to judge the pace and amount of leash that would be needed. Then the trainer and the dog walked for several weeks together with the person to receive the assistance to see what needs the animal would need to be proficient in performing. Extensive time and training is involved with each team of human and animal.
II Corinthians 5:21 tells us, “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” Jesus tells his disciples in John 13:35, “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” God is love. 1 John 4:7-12, “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.”
God’s love is in us by his Holy Spirit. Let us love and serve others in His name. If service animals can be trained for service, surely we can let God use us to love and be of assistance to someone today.
Just Another Dog Devotion 