Lessons from Java

Our family dog, Java, died last weekend. She was ten years old.

My parents got her after I left for college, so I only watched her grow up from a distance, with intermittent visits through the years.  I remember her vibrance and orneriness as a puppy. And I remember seeing her mellow through months of training and strict discipline from her trainer, my dad.

She could sit in a hunting blind for hours and not move a muscle…something even I was not very good at. Her obedience in everything from when to eat her doggie treat to when to fetch up a downed quail was quite impressive. On a walk around the park, she didn’t need to wear a leash, even in the midst of scampering squirrels and barking dogs. She might wander a little from the path once in a while, but at a word, she would return and walk close to her master.

About a year after I tore my ACL, Java tore hers. I had surgery. She didn’t. It slowly healed, but her life slowed down a little after that.  Her sprinting and retrieving days were over. But she still loved to go out. She rarely missed an opportunity to jump in (or be hoisted into!) the truck with her master to watch wildlife or walk around and explore a new park or forest.

Last month when I was home, it was obvious that she was not doing well. She was slower to respond and less excited about eating. Who knows how much pain she was experiencing…  But I learned something from her during that time.  Despite her sickness and age, she remained faithful and obedient. When Dad would tell her it was time to go, she would muster everything she had and get up and go.

To be totally honest, I’m not a huge dog fan. But Java unknowingly modeled something to me that I will never forget – faithfulness to her master.

In less than a week, I will be moving back to Bandung again. It is hard to believe that it has already been a year. Once again, I’m filled with the tensions of transition and the questions of the unknowns that lie ahead. It can become so complicated and convoluted, with thoughts filled of ‘what ifs.’

Sometimes I’m simply faithful to obey without asking questions. And sometimes I want to know all the reasons before I take a step. I am reminded of a verse a friend gave me recently:

Let love and faithfulness never leave you;

bind them around your neck,

write them on the tablet of your heart.

– Proverbs 3:3

Maybe Java understood this best. She had a little metal bone that hung around her neck with the name of her address and owner. And she had nothing without him.

Today as I begin to pack and move again, I remember when I gave my life to my Master when I was 7. And at that moment my life was no longer my own. I was given a tag… a seal, actually… which showed His ownership of my life, with an address marking my citizenship in Heaven. (1 Cor 6:19-20, 2 Cor 1:21-22, Phil 3:20)

I have nothing without my Master. Though the cost to stay by His side is sometimes difficult (when it might be more fun to run off and chase the squirrels), He provides for my daily existence. That should be enough.

But I remember the ongoing discussion in our house on what Java was allowed to eat. In theory, she was to eat dog food twice a day. That was supposed to be enough. But Dad just couldn’t help it. He had to give her “a taste” of what was on his plate after a meal. She didn’t beg. But she did sit at his side at each meal waiting, knowing that he would at least let her lick the plate…if not give her some solid chunks of table scraps!

And indeed, my Master is no different. It should be enough that he provides my daily bread. But He is an outrageously lavish Master. I have more than I could ask for. All the more reason to learn to be content to walk faithfully by His side.

Throughout the book of Revelation, we see a continual call to be faithful until death to our Master whose name is Faithful. (Rev 19:11) And really, if I can stop for a minute to regain an eternal perspective, that is really all I want. When I die, really all that matters is that I can stand in the presence of my Master and hear Him say, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

Thanks, Java, for reminding me of that today. And if your sole life purpose was to be a picture of simple and unwavering faithfulness to the Master until death, then I praise the Father for how you have challenged those who knew you or will hear your story.

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~ by jen4him on June 29, 2010.