17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. 2 Corinthians 5:17 (NKJV)
By Bro. John L. Cash, “Country Preacher Dad”
Have you ever wondered why dogs spend so much time sniffing each other’s bottoms? A friend of mine told me the story the other day, and I want to share it with you.
Once upon a time there were a bunch of dogs who went to a bar on a rainy night. It was an extremely big pub, but, because there were so many dogs, it was very, very crowded inside. There were dogs sitting on every stool at the counter, dogs sitting on chairs at every table, dogs crammed into every booth, and dogs packed standing-room-only around every pool table. By and by, the room became stuffy and warm.
As the evening dragged on, the bartender smelled a bad odor, and his eyes began to burn. He said, “Hey, all you mutts! Your rear-ends stink! Take them off, and go hang them in the hallway!”
So, the dogs took off their rear-ends and hung them on hooks in the hallway. (Their bottoms were kind of like hip-wader-boots. They were held on with things like suspenders.) The bartender was much happier, as the foul odor cleared from his bar.
About 30 minutes later, an English bulldog knocked over his glass of rum. He became so flustered that his cigar fell out of his mouth, igniting the alcohol from the rum. The pub was soon engulfed in flames. The bartender shouted, “Fire! Fire! Everyone run for your lives!”
So all the dogs ran into the hallway to get their rear-ends off the hooks. There was a mad scramble and a violent tangle as each dog tried to find his bottom and put it back on. Then the ceiling was consumed by the blaze, and the roof began to fall in. The bartender yelled, “There’s no more time! You’re all going to die! You can sort it out later! Just grab the closest rear-end and put it on!”
So, all the dogs did what they bartender said. And to this day, whenever two dogs meet, they always sniff each other’s backsides and say, “Would you happen to be wearing my bottom?”
That’s the imaginary explanation for this situation. But the true explanation is more profound: Dogs are sniffers (and barkers, and diggers, and scratchers) because that’s their nature. They really don’t have too much choice in the matter. They just naturally do the things that dogs do.
Now this is a very important subject, indeed. For just as all dogs have a “dog nature,” all people are born with a “human nature”. And the Scriptures say that “human nature” is really a “sinful nature.” Left to our own devices, we all have a natural tendency to do things that are wrong.
How wonderful it is to know that when we receive Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord, we are no longer bound to live according to our sinful nature. God gives us a new nature, made in the likeness of His Son. St. Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” Not only do we receive a new nature, we become a “new creation.”
Dear mamas, this week all our canine friends will have no choice as to what they will be doing. But how blessed you are, having the opportunity to choose to live a life of service and love. Ask the Lord to help you live by your new nature. Let’s spend this week bestowing roses and sharing perfume—instead of sniffing exhaust!
Dr. John L. Cash is the “Country Preacher Dad.” He was raised in Stuttgart, Arkansas, and has spent the last 25 years being a country preacher in the piney woods five miles south of the little town of Hickory, Mississippi. (On week days he works at a public school.) He and his lovely wife, Susan, and his sons, Spencer (age 19) and Seth (age 16) live in the parsonage next door to the Antioch Christian Church (where the two parsonage dogs, Walter and Billy, still don’t have the “seat situation” figured out.) He would love to hear from you in an email sent to extramailbox@juno.com.
