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I get compliments on my looks all the time, but it was not always this way...

When I was a puppy, I wandered away from my home and wound up lost. I struggled to survive on my own. I had to eat horrible things like rotten meat and old trash. I was scarred and bruised. I had many places where my hair had been torn off. I was starving to death, and I did not know what to do. Thunder and lightning scared me so bad; I could feel the static in the air and many times I just ran and ran to try to get away.

When I would get so exhausted that I could not take another step, I would lay down under a bush or a tree. The rain would make me so cold, and my belly would growl with hunger. Ticks and fleas would almost drive me out of my mind. I was lost, I was miserable, and I did not know what to do.

One night when there was a storm, I was so tired and weak that I did not know if I would make it. I came upon a shelter; it was full of hay and was a dry place to rest. After what seemed like hours, I finally got warm. I slept like a dog (excuse the pun). I was so tired that I did not even know when the sun came up.

Suddenly I was startled awake by a noise. With what seemed like my last bit of strength, I stood up to see where the noise came from. It was a little dog barking, and there with him was a lady I did not know. When she saw me, she called her husband. He came over and gently spoke to me. For some reason I did not have the urge to run away. I felt safe.

He looked me over and then he told his wife that if he took me to the dog pound, I would be put down because I was so sick. He gently lifted me into his truck and drove me to the vet instead.

After a thorough exam, he was told that I had worms (yuck). I had lost two-thirds of my blood to those blood-sucking ticks and fleas. The vet gave the man some medicines for me, and he gave me some shots. He was so gentle, I hardly felt the needle. He said I was about 7 months old, and I only weighed 19 lbs. I was on the verge of death.

Soon the medicine kicked in and I felt strong enough to eat. The man kept me in his home, and he gave me food and fresh water. This man held me and talked to me for hours and for the first time in my life I knew love. He never asked me for anything, and he freely accepted my love. He did not care how sick I was or how dirty I was or what kind of background I had. He just loved me.

So long story short, I decided to give myself to him. I wanted him to be my master. I wanted to serve him for the rest of my life. He, however, did not call me servant. He adopted me into his family and he calls me friend.

Which brings me to my reason for telling you my story.

By listening and watching, I became aware that my master has a master. Much like me, he was lost and dying. I have heard him tell his story to a lot of people.

He said that when he was lost this man called Jesus came and found him. This man called Jesus is the son of God. He said that this man was born to a little virgin girl and that he lived 33 years on this earth, but he never sinned.

He tells how this Jesus was tried and convicted even though He was innocent. He said that this was God’s plan because a man named Adam had rebelled and allowed sin into this world. Since he was the first man, he passed down his nature to every person ever born.

He said that God is perfect, and He accepts nothing but perfection from man, but because of man’s sin nature he can never obtain perfection.

My master tells how God—because of His great love for man—sent His son to earth to die on a cross and pay the debt for sin.

“Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; ¹⁹ But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: ²⁰ Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you, ²¹ Who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God” (1 Peter 1:18-21).

He tells folks that the Bible says there is a cost for sin.

“For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:23).

That cost is death, he says, which is eternal separation from God.

“And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. ¹⁴ And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death” (Revelation 20:13-14).

He tells them that he, like me, was lost. He, like me, was dying. But unlike me, he was in danger of dying a spiritual death and spending eternity in torment separated from the presence of God.

I have heard him tell about the moment he realized he was a sinner condemned and convicted. He says that he saw from the Bible that Jesus had paid the cost of His sin, and he surrendered his life to God. He went to the throne of God’s grace. He told God that he was a sinner and he confessed to God how he had broken His commandments. He then asked Jesus to forgive him and to come into his heart and to save him.

He gets excited when he tells how Jesus came into his heart—how he knew for the first time that Jesus was alive and real and that Jesus loved him enough that He had paid the ultimate price to buy his pardon.

Can I ask you a personal question today?

Do you have the presence of Jesus living in and through you? Have you confessed your sin and asked Jesus to cleanse you and to forgive you? Have you surrendered and asked Jesus (simply put) to save you? If not, what is keeping you from making that eternal decision? If I had not found the strength and the courage to stand up that morning, I would have perished. My friend, you also are in danger of perishing. Please think about your destiny.

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