Today we found a dog roaming around our backyard.
My wife noticed him first. She did not ignore him. The dog saw my wife and when she went over to the doorwall, the dog followed outside to the door. She obviously wanted to come inside.
We're pretty cautious when we see animals roaming around, but this one had tags and was clearly trained. The dog was hanging around our doorwall looking pretty cold. So we let him (we later found out her) in our house.
She is a very well behaved doggie.
She explored the house a little, she didn't bark or growl. And she saw that I had food, she sat down obediently and waited. The dog was obviously very happy to be inside getting attention. This is no stray, this is one of our neighbor's pets.
We checked out her tags and found the number to the sheriff's department. We called and they said animal control was closed. They were not very helpful. We looked up Facebook's lost pet website and didn't find anything. So the tags were not very helpful.
Time to do this the old fashioned way. Let's find the owner.
We observed that the dog was not dirty or muddy, she looked like she was recently lost. So, we started going door to door. My wife began by looking for houses with fences as possible families that might have lost a dog. As she was walking, a van pull up into a driveway and a man got out looking sort of sad. She asked him "Did you happen to be missing a dog?" and he said "Yes, I have been looking for her for an hour." My wife had our camera with her and she showed him a photo of the dog. "This dog?" He looked very relieved. "Yes. That's my dog. That's Casey."
The man came back to our home and Casey immediately recognized him. They both looked pretty happy.
This is what had happened.
He explained that he had taken his two dogs to the grocery store and when he let them out of the car, one of them just ran away. It was a big surprise for him, he never expected her to do this and she's never done this before. He felt a little defensive explaining that he takes good care of his dogs and does not neglect them. I think he was worried that we would think badly of him or report him to the authorities. We assured him that we know he takes good care of his dogs, by how well behaved she was while she was here.
God cares about animals.
While any decent person would take care of and try to return a lost pet, I find it interesting that God specifically commanded His people to return lost animals. Both for the sake of the animal and for the sake of the people.
"You shall not see your countryman's ox or his sheep straying away, and pay no attention to them; you shall certainly bring them back to your countryman. If your countryman is not near you, or if you do not know him, then you shall bring it home to your house, and it shall remain with you until your countryman looks for it; then you shall restore it to him. Deuteronomy 22:1
The commandments are:
- Do not ignore a lost animal that is owned by someone else.
- Bring the animal back to the owner.
- If you don't know the owner, bring the animal into your house.
- Take care of the animal until he is returned.
- Return the animal to the owner as he is looking for the animal.
This is one of the many commandments that Yeshua fulfills.
Just as Yeshua fulfills the commandments of His Father in Heaven, we also are to fulfill the commandments of our Father in Heaven to glorify Him.
Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them, but to fulfill them. For I tell you truly, until heaven and earth pass away, not a single jot, not a stroke of a pen, will disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. Matthew 5:16-18
Yeshua was sent into the world to be a light shining among the nations. To fulfill the Law and the Profits. To restore the lost sheep of the House of Israel.
[Yeshua said] “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” Matthew 15:24
Yeshua is the Good Shepherd
God's people are scattered and lost among the nations and the Son of God does not ignore them, but brings them back to the owner. His Father in Heaven.
My people have become lost sheep; Their shepherds have led them astray. They have made them turn aside on the mountains; They have gone along from mountain to hill And have forgotten their resting place. Jeremiah 50:6
The sons of God are scattered among the nations and are distressed and have no rest. They are seeking after their Master and don't even realize it. They are seeking their resting place, but have deceived themselves into believing this life is all there is.
[Yeshua said] "I am the good shepherd. I know My sheep and My sheep know Me, just as the Father knows Me and I know the Father. And I lay down My life for the sheep. I have other sheep that are not in this fold. I must bring them in as well, and they will listen to My voice. Then there will be one flock and one shepherd. John 10:14-16
May our Father in Heaven be glorified by our good deeds.
As children of God, we must not forget our resting place. My we be shepherded by our Savior Yeshua and hear His voice and be brought into our resting place and fulfill the will of our Father in Heaven.
So there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God. For whoever enters God’s rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from His. Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following the same pattern of disobedience. Hebrews 4:6-11
Shabbat Shalom and Bless the Most High!
This is 60 of 70 of the #gratefulvibes challenge by @paradise-found
Check out my previous gratefulvibe: Grateful for an afternoon out with my family.
