Skippy is an unusual dog. He has a glossy, brown coat, loves to be petted, and has endless energy. But that is not what makes him special. Skippy is a hearing-ear dog. He has been trained to help people who are deaf. He belongs to a lady who can’t hear, named Janet.
What a change Skippy has made in Janet’s life! Before Skippy came, Janet was not able to respond to the sounds most of us hear every day. Skippy has been trained to let Janet know when he hears an alarm clock, a smoke alarm, a doorbell or telephone ring, or the buzz of an oven timer.
Before she got Skippy, the house could have been on fire, and Janet wouldn’t have known it. Now if the smoke alarm goes off, Skippy almost immediately begins running in circles. Then he goes directly to Janet and paws at her clothing. When she gets up to follow him, Skippy goes to the smoke alarm on the ceiling, looking back to make sure Janet is following him.
If the phone rings, Skippy takes her to the phone. If the doorbell rings or someone knocks, he leads the way to the door. When her alarm clock goes off in the morning, he jumps up on the bed and licks her face to wake her up.
Skippy must not get his sounds mixed up, or he would be of no help to Janet at all. If he heard the smoke alarm and led her to the telephone, or if the alarm clock rang and he ran to the door, Janet would not get the correct message.
Just as Skippy has to listen carefully to the sounds he hears, we must listen carefully to what God has to say to us. In Revelation 3:20 He says, “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear My voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me.” Do you hear His knock? Have you answered it by accepting the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior and confessing Him with your mouth, as your Lord (Romans 10:9)?
Once we have accepted Him, there are many things the Lord tells us that we must listen to if we want to be really happy Christians. Here are a few of those things: “Children, obey your parents in the Lord” (Ephesians 6:1). “Love one another” (John 15:17). “Be ye kind one to another” (Ephesians 4:32). “Rejoice in the Lord alway” (Philippians 4:4).
Just as Skippy has to listen carefully all the time, we need to read the Bible every day so we can hear and understand the things that God has to say to each of us. The Bible is a very special letter from God to us. I love to get letters in the mail, don’t you? Wouldn’t it be sad if you sent a letter to someone and they never bothered to read it? Do you read God’s letter to you?
Messages of God’s Love 12/12/2021