Body Slam Dunk

He was a stray that hung around at the grocery store where my brother worked.  As time went by, it became obvious to the employees that he had no home to go to – no one was going to come and claim him. 

My brother finally brought the stray home. I think the dog was very grateful.  He must have been because he was gentle and easygoing from the very beginning.  John named him Body Slam Dunk. 

I thought it was a strange name for a dog.  But my youngest brother was a great fan of sports.  I am pretty sure ‘body slam dunk’ is a basketball term.  I know what a dunk is – but I’m not sure about the body slam part. 

At any rate he was a good dog.  He and John were great friends. At some point, his name changed to Kemosabe – or Kemo for short.  Eventually John went to college.  Kemosabe became my parents’ dog then.  They loved him too.  He was a part of the family.

When my two oldest boys were big enough to play outside, Kemo followed them everywhere they went.  He had someone to play with again.  Not to mention he was a great guard dog. 

Once when John came home for a weekend, he set up a tent and camped outside with Adam and Alex.  Naturally, this was a special treat for them.  I remember Kemo slept right outside the tent “door” the entire night. 

Maybe he wanted to be as close as possible to them.  I’m sure he had missed John.  Maybe he was watching over them.  With him there, it was sure nothing else was coming across that tent threshold! 

Shouldn’t we feel toward God the way Body Slam Dunk (a.k.a. Kemosabe) felt about John? Shouldn’t we be thankful He had compassion on us when we were strays lost in sin?  God wants to take us home to heaven.  He sent His Son to die, so we would have the hope of living eternally with Him.

We should want to be as close to God as Kemo wanted to be to John.  We should take Him with us wherever we go.  God longs for closeness with us.  He wants us to be part of His family just like Kemo was part of ours. 

Guess what else?  Kemo wanted to protect Adam, Alex and John while they were asleep in that tent.  Christ wants to protect us from the snares of the devil and the cares of this world.  That is why He died for us and built the church. 

A relationship with a pet and his owner is pure.  Unconditional love is involved.  Loyalty and commitment are involved too and obedience.  Before John could take this stray home with him, the dog had to do something.  He had to listen to John’s voice and obey him.

Body Slam Dunk couldn’t go home with John until he got in the car. That really makes me stop and think!  Will we get in God’s car?  It is entirely up to us. 

 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.  John 10:27

Christ above all things - Robin

Halloween on Paden Street

 

I grew up in safer, simpler times.  At least it seemed like that to me.  We lived in a residential neighborhood and lots of other kids lived there too. There was always someone to play with. During the summer we played with each other up and down the street.  

And Halloween?  Oh, trick or treating was so much fun. Todd and I walked from house to house with our friends to “trick or treat”.  Our neighbors were quite generous.  We always collected plenty of candy!

Another thing I loved was the decorations.  Some folks loved to decorate their houses with all sorts of things.  I remember one house in particular.  It was a few houses down the hill from us.  The yard and his front porch were decorated with all sorts of Halloween stuff.  When children walked up to the door and knocked, his wife would answer and give out candy. 

 As we got to their driveway, I saw him standing at a window. His arms were moving quickly.  It looked like he was pulling on a rope.  I just happened to notice movement in a big tree right beside their driveway.  I followed the movement and realization dawned on me. 

 The man had a “ghost” rigged up in that tree.  He had just finished pulling it into place ready for the next group of kids.  That just happened to be us.  None of my other friends had noticed.  “Oh this ought to be good!” I said to myself.

Todd was a few feet ahead of me, but I didn’t call him back.  I knew he would probably get scared, but I thought it would be funny.  Looking back on it now I feel guilty.  The Bible tells us we reap what we sow.  Maybe that’s why I am so easily startled now.  Who knows? 

This memory made me think about how we are supposed to look out for our brothers and sisters in Christ.  We should stop them before they run full head on into something that will endanger their souls. 

Scripture says in Philippians 2:4-5 “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.  Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interest of others.”

Hear is another beautiful passage. “My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back, let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save a soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.”  James 5:19-20

Ladies we can’t be like I was that night so long ago.  We cannot just sit back and watch our fellow Christians go off toward the path of sin without even caring.  God wants us to try to help them – to support them in their struggles and to call them back to the Lord. 

This is what loving one another is all about.  Let’s watch out for another. 

Christ above all things – Robin