No More Woof

If we are to love our neighbors, before doing anything else we must see our neighbors. With our imagination as well as our eyes, that is to say like artists, we must see not just their faces but the life behind and within their faces. Here it is love that is the frame we see them in. Frederick Buechner

There is a group in Scandinavia that is working on designing a set of headphones that you can put on your dog’s head and the headphones will read the dog’s thoughts and then speak for him.  The name of the headphones would be “No More Woof”.  I guess the theory behind this is that if a dog can only speak “woof” language, how is it possible for an owner to know what the dog is asking for.  

  

Last time I checked in with my dog, he pretty much makes it clear what he needs or wants without barking or woofing.  My dog has the unblinking stare down to an art.  If he plops down in front of you and stares at you without blinking, he wants a treat.  If he picks up the paper plate we use to feed him and shreds it after he is finished eating, this means he doesn’t like the food you gave him.  If he goes into the bedroom at night and you hear him muttering (I call it muttering because he doesn’t bark, he just makes a noise that sounds like muttering under his breath), that means it is time for me to go to bed.

My brother-in-law has a big lab named Duke.  Duke used to live in an apartment when he was a puppy, so to keep him from barking my brother-in-law trained him to pick up his blanket and carry it around in his mouth instead of barking.  He has this blanket that you will see him walking around with it in his mouth as the blanket trails behind him.  That’s what I call smart.  No headphones required. 

  

This made me think of the ways that each of us communicate to others without saying a word.  Our facial expressions can tell a great deal about a person along with our actions.  We are able to show fear, anxiety, anger, love, shyness, happiness, joy and many others just through our facial expressions.  Someone once said that the eyes are the windows to the soul and I think there is a great deal of truth in that. 

Jesus saw past the outer person to the person inside. I want to be more like Him.  If I look at the heart of the person instead of the outer shell, I will begin to see people the way Jesus did.  Every person on earth has pain.  It can be pain they have carried around for years or recent pain but Jesus showed over and over again how he looked past the exterior to see the heart of the person.

Prayer for the Day: Jesus, I want to be more like You.  Sometimes I try to hide my pain behind laughter or I try to cover it up and pretend it isn’t there.  I am guilty of both.  I want to use my own personal pain to help others.  If I am hiding my pain, how many others are doing the same thing.  Help me to see others as You do.  We are all broken people searching for someone to see past the pain to the hurting person inside.

Scripture:  Then it happened, as He was coming near Jericho, that a certain blind man sat by the road begging.  And hearing a multitude passing by, he asked what it meant.  So they told him that Jesus of Nazareth was passing by. And he cried out, saying, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”

Then those who went before warned him that he should be quiet; but he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”

So Jesus stood still and commanded him to be brought to Him. And when he had come near, He asked him, saying, “What do you want Me to do for you?” He said, “Lord, that I may receive my sight.”

Then Jesus said to him, “Receive your sight; your faith has made you well.”  And immediately he received his sight, and followed Him, glorifying God. And all the people, when they saw it, gave praise to God.  Luke 18:35-43