Daily Devotional for May 22, 2018
Training Baxter
Cody’s black Labrador tilted his head to one side and lifted his front paw. “No, not shake! Fetch!” Cody walked over and picked up the ball for what felt like the hundredth time. “Can’t you learn anything? Fetch! Fetch, Baxter. Fetch!” Cody hurled the ball across the yard, and Baxter raced after it. Before it dropped to the ground, Baxter leaped into the air and caught it in his mouth. “Wow! Good dog!” Cody called, clapping his hands. “Now, bring it here, Baxter!”
Baxter’s wagging tail stopped and pointed into the air. He perked his ears and stared into the nearby woods. Then he dropped the ball and dashed after a squirrel. “This is hopeless,” Cody said, letting himself drop to the ground.
“What’s hopeless?” asked Cody’s older sister, Makenna. She sat on the grass next to him.
“I’m trying to train Baxter,” Cody said with a sigh. “I’ve been trying to teach him how to sit and shake and fetch, but I’m about ready to give up. Sometimes it seems like he’s getting the hang of it, then, out of the blue, he runs off and chases a squirrel or something.”
“Baxter’s a hunting dog, so it’s in his nature to do that,” said Makenna. She glanced at her brother. “Kind of like it’s in our nature to do the wrong thing sometimes. That’s what Pastor Pham’s sermon was about, remember?”
“Yeah, thanks for the reminder,” Cody said, thinking of something mean he’d said to Makenna the day before. He hoped God didn’t give up on him as easily as he gave up on Baxter. “Do you suppose God thinks we’re hopeless?” he asked his sister.
“Of course not,” said Makenna. “Jesus saved us from sin, and He promises to train us by making us grow to be more like Him. And even though there will be many times when we wander away from Him and do something wrong—like Baxter going after those squirrels—we can always run back to Him, and He’ll forgive us.”
Something pawed at Cody’s back. He turned to find Baxter holding the ball in his mouth. Cody smiled and patted Baxter’s head. “Want to try again?” He threw the ball, and Baxter bounced away after it. – Debra VanDyke
How about you?
Do you feel like a hopeless case—like you’ll never be able to stop doing things that are wrong? Struggling against sin is part of every Christian’s life, but don’t give up on yourself, because Jesus never will! He saved you from sin and will always forgive you, no matter how many times you do something wrong. Trust Him to train you to be more like Him—He is all the hope you need.
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