Puppy Training and Parenting

Now that I am a proud dog owner, I'm learning that dogs are like people. They have personalities. They have likes and dislikes. They play. They pout. They run, jump and talk. I can't understand what they say, but they talk. This is just my children! The dog is like that too. (OK! Bad joke!!!!!) Dogs and people do have similarities though, but there is one major difference. Dogs aren't people.

We read in Genesis that God breathed life into Adam and he became a living soul. This distinction separates humanity from all plant and animal life. We are fearfully and wonderfully made in the image of God and nothing else in creation bears that distinction. Since we as people are endowed with the capacity to think and reason and ultimately know God, we are responsible for teaching others what we have learned. Here is the link between parenting and puppy training. In the same way that God has demonstrated patience with us when we have failed or rebelled, we must do the same in the lives of our children. We write into them lessons and operating systems that will hopefully point them toward God and help them live meaningful lives. This requires patience, repetition, patience, repetition, patience, repetition, patience, repetition, etc.... Aren't you glad that God is a patient God? If not, he would have zapped you long ago! :)