Scandalous Grace... and Puppies!

1 John 3:1a "See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!"

     I know I probably should give you a moment-by-moment update of my latest adventure--namely, moving to Mexico... but honestly, it would take hours. The basic things you need to know: God put in me under the care of the most ridiculously hospitable family I've ever known, and they're renting me a house here in Ensenada (really Chapultepec), very close to all my YUGO friends. I can't even express how astonishing their kindness is; I don't know that I have ever seen anything like it up close. God is already opening so many doors that I'm losing track by the minute--youth group outings, acoustic concerts, English classes, and my dear friends who I've gotten to see! Emotions are always an up and down kind of thing, but I have to say that overall, here I've felt much more "up" than "down," the only hard thing really being waking up for the first time in my own house and realizing that... yep... I'm here. That's your update! Enjoy it. The Holy Spirit has put something else on my heart to write....

      It involves another update that may interest some of you. I have a puppy!  Yep. You called it. The tie-dye toting, save-the-whatever-it-was-we-were-saving Eugene girl indeed found a Mexican puppy wandering the streets and took it in. Who likes to be all alone in a house? I'll put up a picture of him below. But the thing is... the little guy has got mange. I'm not joking. I just... I know that he's my puppy. I know that God is going to heal him. And honestly, 24 hours after finding him on the street, taking him to the vet, and praying over him like no other, almost all of his scabs have already fallen off. Take that, modern science! But the strange thing is... God was just ministering to me via this little fluff ball all morning. And the fruit of that is what I'm about to share. So buckle up... because (you guessed it!) I've got a lot to say. 

     I'm going to narrate the story from a slightly different perspective. Let's take this puppy as a metaphor, shall we? You and me--we are the mange-ridden mongrel on the side of the road. Just deal with it. You're itchy, hot, thirsty. Some random person promised you a life, and then threw you out onto the streets to die. Just a tiny baby in this world, you had no idea what to do. So you wandered around eating whatever you could shove in your mouth. You followed all the wrong dogs into all the wrong places, and did all the wrong things. Oh, sure, you didn't really hurt anything--you were too weak for that. But little by little, whether you were doing "big" things or just wandering aimlessly, you became filthier and filthier. Pretty soon, you were downright contagious. Disgusting. Gross. People didn't want to come anywhere near you. Other dogs literally bit you if you sought help--and you have the wound on your tail to prove it. At this point, we'll push pause.

     Enter that strange human being. That one that you just knew you wanted to be close to. But you dared not get too close--so many other people have thrown rocks in your face... How could this one be any different? Yet something inside of you allowed a tiny seed of hope to take root. You followed the strange human around, still keeping your distance. But little by little, even if you just sat at the person's feet... you knew you couldn't leave. Then comes the gnawing doubt: Why on earth would this person ever notice me? I'm filthy. I itch. I'm covered in disgusting sores. My fur is matted and I'm hungry. I have absolutely nothing to offer except my contagious, gross self. Who on earth would take me?

    Strangely enough, though, as a knife slicing through the doubt, a hand reached down and wrapped a warm towel around you. Suddenly you found yourself inside of a cardboard box, being carried by some unforseen strength to a place of healing--the Veterinarian's office. It hurt at first--you had to get an injection, a painful bath, you were wrenched from the only life you'd ever known. You were left isolated in a new place. But just as quickly as you thought it was all over, you found yourself asleep in the sunshine, sitting in the Master's Lap, as he risked his own skin (literally!) to clean you, hair by hair. You gasped as he searched every part of you, the places you thought you could "deal with on your own." You hadn't realized how bad things really were. But soon enough, you were so used to it that you just lay belly up, taking in the love and comfort. 

     That's the scene here. Now let's shift the focus. What on earth is up with this idiot human being? What kind of moronic American wanders the streets of Mexico looking for a puppy? Seriously--there are millions of free puppies all over the face of the earth. Who gives a rat's patoot about this stupid little dog wandering the road? Just let the dumb thing die already! There are plenty more where that came from! Doesn't that person realize--mange can be dangerous to humans! Whoa, nelly! Let the pup go on its way--sooner or later, it'll just get hit by a car or starve to death... if it doesn't get violently eaten by something bigger. If this person wants a puppy, just buy a cute one. For goodness' sake, this little flea-infested sack of buyer's remorse isn't worth the time and effort. 

     Right?

     Not if we're talking about God. I don't know if we really fully grasp the scandal of God's grace. Can you imagine the way the spiritual realm gasped when he decided from before the foundations of the earth to go in after us? Why not just start over--get a brand new earth, leave us idiot humans to ourselves, and keep everything nice and neat. Why get messy? 

     I can't even explain to you how much God spoke this to me through my puppy. Just as I declare a new, healthy, amazing future for the dog, God declares the same for you. You have no idea the kind of lottery you one when you accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. This puppy has no idea how passionate I am about dog training, and how much effort I'm going to put into its health and well-being. He has no idea the kinds of prayers being uttered over him has he sleeps. He doesn't see himself in the future like I do--bringing joy to children, chasing tennis balls, running with me every day, going with me everywhere. He has no idea how committed I am at this point. I made a decision. No one made me. No one held me at gunpoint and said "SAVE THE MANGE DOG." No one. It was my choice. And it will be my sacrifice. 

      In the same way, God has picked you up out of your old life. God has an unimaginably great future in store for you. Maybe right now you've only just been picked up off the street. You're still itchy and scabby, and you feel like you've made a terrible mistake. That's okay. Trust in the Master: you have no idea the blessings in store for you! Pretty soon, you may even see a picture of your old self. But I promise you you won't recognize the face in the photo. Because you are a new being in Christ. He has taken you up, in a scandalously idiotic act of grace, at great personal cost, risking much more than mange to bring you to his home. He didn't have to. He could have left you to die in the street and saved himself the money. But he has chosen you. He has chosen you to accompany him in this life. He has offered you an unimaginable adventure full of love, grace, joy, and the painful washings that must come beforehand. Will you take him up on the offer? Will you trust that he knows what he's doing? Or will you allow the fears, that used to gnaw at your mind just as the mange gnawed at your skin, to win? Will you choose to see all that Christ has for you? Or will you determine to see yourself as mange-infested refuse? 

Like I said, I'm pretty stoked about this puppy. He is healing up pretty stinking fast. God has great things in store for him--and his story! I just knew that I had to take him with me. He doesn't have a name yet. How do I begin to put a title on this little one? Not sure. But one thing I do know... 

My God is gracious!

"another fine bit of writing brought to you by yours truly"