Puppy Love

Aurora's new puppy wriggled in her arms. "I'll call him Duke!" she announced. "Duke has a lot to learn," said Dad. "You'll need to train him by rewarding him when he's good and disciplining him when he's bad." Aurora laughed as Duke licked her face. "He won't be bad. I'll love him so much that he'll want to be good. You'll see. Duke will be the best dog in the whole world!"But Duke was not a good puppy. He dug up the flower bed and chewed on shoes. He didn't come when he was called. Aurora scolded and disciplined, but Duke went right on getting into trouble. "When I scold Duke, he acts like he's sorry," Aurora said one day. "So then I pet and hug him. But he turns around and does the same bad things all over again. Can't he see how much I love him? Why does he keep on being bad?""Sometimes it takes a long time to train a puppy," Dad said. "I'm sure Duke will learn eventually. But you know what? You and I have a lot in common with Duke.""What do you mean?" asked Aurora."When you got Duke, you said you were going to love him so much that he'd want to be good for you, remember? Instead, he gets into a lot of trouble--and we're often that way with God. He loves us so much that He sent Jesus to save us by dying for our sins, and He is teaching us to obey Him as His children. Yet we still go our own way and do things we know we shouldn't do.""So we have to learn to obey God, just like Duke needs to learn to obey me?" asked Aurora."Right," said Dad. "Even though we still sin and make mistakes, God is patient with us and always forgives us. He corrects us when we're wrong and teaches us to obey Him and show His love to others."Aurora picked up her squirming puppy and looked him in the eye. "Don't worry, Duke. I still love you, and I'll help you learn to obey me. And you'll help me remember how much God loves me!" – Deborah S. Marett