A God of Redemption and Second Chances

Ragnar the talking dog is doing great while on sabbatical with us for a few months. He is running 2 1/2 miles every morning with me, uses the teeny tiny dog door to squish out to the backyard like a pro, and is a star pupil in our daily training classes. Check out the video below for proof of how well this smart dog is learning sit/stay/come even with distractions of an unfenced front yard.

While I have had Ragnar for a few days at a time before, this little sojourn will be several months. Frankly, I was worried. I thought our house would be covered with poop and pee, our belongings would be shredded, and first chance he got, he would escape and refuse to come when called. None of that happened. He is a model dog and makes me laugh all the time with his constant attempts to carry on an intelligent conversation.

When he first came, he could not walk a mile without being winded and panting like a metronome. Within just one week, he is now running over double that distance.  My goal is for him to run my daily 5 miles with me. However, I am excited by how quickly he is getting in shape! We just did a little more each day, and he eagerly adapted. Same with the training on sit/stay/come. We just do five minutes faithfully each day. I feed him LUSCIOUS treats to reward every single act of obedience. As a result, he eagerly looks forward to the sessions, and with wagging tail complies with every command. Failures are decreasing and rare.

I wonder if I could apply this to all the people in my life 

I am certain God is teaching me as I am teaching Ragnar. These are the two key principles He is impressing upon me.

#1. Set worthy, even lofty goals... but work towards them incrementally. Do not expect instant success. Expect and work towards steady improvement and be happy with that.

#2. Reward and lavish praise upon every single moment of achievement. Do not reward nor shame failure. Be sure to lavish double reward when success follows failure.

This is what God does with me. When I first came to know Jesus, I was not even CLOSE to understanding what walking with Jesus should look like. God never shamed me for my failures or for my glaring imperfections (which is not to say there were not consequences...there were.) However, God continued to slowly guide and lovingly urge me to grow more like Him each day. He certainly made it clear that I was not to remain as I was, but He also provided daily opportunities for growth and success.

There are countless Biblical examples of Jesus encountering people who have utterly failed morally and spiritually whom He commissions to great things. Saul, who had murdered Christ-followers, meets Jesus on the road to Damascus, is renamed Paul, and becomes the great apostle to the Gentiles.

The apostle Peter denies Jesus three times when He is captured and prepared for crucifixion, but Jesus commissions Him to lead and restore those who are lost.

God is so patient with us and so encouraging. He is a God of redemption and second chances.

However, the Bible also warns that His patience will not last forever. He tarries, but there will come a day of judgment. There will be a time when He will no longer withhold His wrath for those who continue to rebel and turn from Him. He offers incredible rewards and blessings when we follow and trust in Him...but not everyone responds. There will be a day when that failure will reap eternal despair.

Fortunately, Ragnar is a symbol of what happens when we eagerly devour every morsel of goodness Jesus offers us. Ragnar’s willing and eager obedience is a joy to behold, and a model to me of how I should respond to God.

*********

Titus 2:11-14 

For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.

**********

My latest novel explores this theme of redemption and second chances. Story is told with the help of a dog that almost talks...just like Ragnar!!

Click HERE for information.