This morning, while procrastinating a talk I’m supposed to give tomorrow, I began staring blankly at my dog who had wandered into the office to lay down beside me. Scout is a mutt whom Annie and I salvaged from eastern Kentucky while running an outdoor program for impoverished kids there four years ago. She was just a pup at the time–a couple of weeks old–and had been found floating down a river in a soggy cardboard box in the days following one of that region’s worst floods in recent memory. (Why we didn’t name her Moses is a question we still lament over.) Stray dogs were in ample supply there and we figured that it would be a more appropriate place to adopt one then back home in Boulder where even the pound seems like a Ramada.
And so Scout became a Powell; but not without a difficult road. She had been badly abused and was an incredible pain in the rear to train. Eventually, she grew to care about what we said to her and after an arduous road, her true personality began to come out. Now, I’m convinced she’s the best dog in the world. I hate overly needy dogs. Those dogs that incessantly beg for attention and petting and like to drool all over ones crotch quite impolitely. (Disclaimer: don’t get me wrong and take that to assume that I’m a cat person because of that taste.) Scout is independent. Does not demand affection. She is part Border Collie so she likes having a job to do and gets restless and whiny when she’s bored. And I can respect that. She does enjoy affection, but only on her own terms–and only after you’ve earned it. Her bark is unfortunate; Scout’s not a terribly big dog (about 45 lbs on a good day), but has the high pitched yelp of a lap dog. No ones perfect I suppose. She gets along well with other dogs, unless they’re jerks, and then she wants nothing to do with them. She’s great with kids and babies, and, I gather, considers it her vocation to sit nearby and guard them against any impending danger. (This is good news considering our newborn–due any day now!)
So how does this relate to the theme of New Creation, which, I suppose is the overall theme of this blog? I’m not sure. I am convinced however, that my dog will have some role in the New Heavens and New Earth. Hopefully, her bark will be less obnoxious there though. Dogs (and animals in general) are not hindered by concupiscence. They have no temptation to do what they ought not–apart, that is, from our own human brokenness, which we afflict them with. It’s good to remind myself that whatever flaws Scout has (separation anxiety, nervousness) were probably inflicted by the creeps who beat her before we met each other. This follows with what St. Paul says in Romans 8 when he declares,
…creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God; for the creation was subjected to futility [brokenness], not of its own will, but by the one who subjected it in hope; because the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and obtain the glorious liberty of the children of God. (Romans 8:19-21)
In other words, the redemption of the created world (dogs, trees, etc) is dependent on usdoing our job as Christians. Likewise, any discord with the natural world, it seems, (bears, tornadoes, etc.) was likely caused by our (or Adam’s, or whoever’s) sin. This news should both trouble us and give us great hope.
For now though, I’ll content myself just to look at Scout (who is now snoring loudly next to my chair) and remember that she’s counting on me to live out the hope that Christ gives me.
