Faith and the family that adopted her are a very special demonstration of what love does. While a dog does not have a soul, it nevertheless responds to love. Faith does not care how she looks. Dogs don’t worry about such things. Faith does not care that she has faced many struggles and continues to press beyond what is normally expected of a dog. Faith has encountered the persistence of love from those who cared for her and rather than lying helplessly in a ball on the floor, she walks and runs, wagging her tail so strongly that she nearly unbalances herself.
In the beginning, God established that Man should be like Him, ruling the world for good, in the same way in which God Himself created and now rules over all things.
And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. (Genesis 1:26-28)
God created the world for Man and set Man over all things to dominate and to rule the world after the same manner that God Himself does. He created Man in His own image, full of goodness and love. Even after the rebellion of Adam, even after the choice to become sinful, God’s love still prevailed so that God reclaimed His fallen children and lifted them up with the promise of the ultimate display of love. He promised that salvation would come through the advent of the Son of Woman, who is God in the flesh, Jesus. With this promise, God restored love to Man once again.
There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love. We love him, because he first loved us. (1 John 4:18-19)
The miracle that was worked by the love of the Stringfellow family for this doggy is a reflection of the love of God and the power that God’s love works in us and for us. How lovely to behold such a display. While sin veils the love of God in the world, still He shows us the power of His love in everyday things, even as in this special occurrence with Faith and the Stringfellow family. While such displays are not automatically evidence of the true faith in people’s lives, these displays do continually hold before us all what God intends for us to receive from Him.
As the season of Advent comes upon us again this coming Sunday, we again rejoice in the love of God manifested in the birth of His Son, who is come in order to give Himself as the restoration of God’s merciful love to the world. By His life, suffering, death, and resurrection, love is available to everyone through the pure Gospel and Sacraments. May this season of Advent serve us all the hope that is freely given and received through our Lord Jesus Christ, even as is given as a small reminder in the response of Faith to the love of the Stringfellow family.
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