Bow Wow

 “We have known and believed the love that God has for us.”—1 John 4:16

A friend called me the other day to lament his sins. Said he wasn’t good enough for God. I agreed with him.

But then I told him about Bow Wow.

Bow Wow was a rag dog that one of our sons adopted when he was two years old. Bow Wow was Linus’ shred of outing flannel, Radar’s Teddy Bear and the Velveteen Rabbit all rolled into one. Other toys had more intrinsic value, but none was more cherished than Bow Wow.  

Bow Wow was hugged and dragged everywhere and in time became indescribably dirty. Cleaning him became a major problem because we couldn’t tug Bow Wow away from the boy. Washing Bow Wow only made things worse: All his stuffing came out. In the end he was nothing more than a dirty, stringy bundle of rags.

But, my how he was loved!

It occurs to me that we’re God’s rag dogs—tacky and desperately dirty, but precious beyond all computing, loved by Love that will never let us go. Love that looks at you and at me and says, “You’re not much to look at, but you’re mine!”

Stuart Townsend put it this way...

How deep the Father’s love for us;

How vast beyond all measure.

That He should give His only Son,

And make a wretch His treasure.

DHR