Puppies Under the Table

One of my earliest and happiest memories is of our family’s little reddish-blonde cocker spaniel. We have pictures of him with us in about 1958 in which you can see my hair is the same color as his. Then we had a black and white doggie named ……what was his name? Spot? Tippy?

Another one I remember well was our next-door-neighbor’s dog. He was a big, husky, long-haired dog, who followed our friend Velta around all the time. He was very over-protective of her.

Our little dog when I was a teenager was black with a tiny bit of white and brown. Probably part dachshund, with short legs, short hair, and the prettiest eyes. She was a mouser. She’d start nosing around, sniffing, whining, and we’d just let her go. Soon she’d be dragging a mouse out of the closet.

We are so attached to our little pets, as they become part of our families. Some people might not consider our pet animals to be a very spiritual thing, but in the New Testament Jesus spoke about dogs. A little lady came to Jesus asking for healing for her daughter.

 

 ^“Then he said to the woman, “I was sent to help the Jews—the lost sheep of Israel—not the Gentiles.” But she came and worshiped him and pled again, “Sir, help me!”

 “It doesn’t seem right to take bread from the children and throw it to the dogs,” he said.

 “Yes, it is!” she replied, “for even the puppies beneath the table are permitted to eat the crumbs that fall.”

 “Woman,” Jesus told her, “your faith is large, and your request is granted.” And her daughter was healed right then.” Matthew 15:24-28. The Living Bible.

 

She had the wisdom and audacity to believe that he would want even the little pet dogs under the table to have the crumbs from the master’s table.

 

We are not just his little pets, we are his children, so it is our privilege to sit at the Master’s table and eat the good things God has prepared for us, and not just settle for the crumbs that drop off the Master’s table.