Dog Wash

Read: 1 Corinthians 6:9-11; 1 John 1:8-9

Millee grunted as she helped her aunt lift the heavy dog into the tub. Titan was a giant, and it took both her and Aunt Jodie to pick him up.

Millee turned on the handheld sprayer while her aunt mixed the soaps. Aunt Jodie was a dog groomer, and a few times a year Millee would bring her long-haired dog over to Aunt Jodie’s house for a good bath and a brush.

“He’s extra gross today,” Millee warned her aunt. “He really loves rolling around in the dirt.”

Her aunt smiled as she applied a generous amount of shampoo to the dog’s long coat. “I see we have a lot of mats to work out today too,” she said, running her fingers over the thick chunks of fur around Titan’s ears, neck, and belly. “We’ve got our work cut out for us today.”

The two worked in silence for a while, scrubbing the dog’s fur and rinsing his thick coat. Then they wrapped him in a big towel, carried him to the grooming table, and kept working. Aunt Jodie ran the blow dryer while Millee struggled with the dog brush.

By the time Aunt Jodie was finished, Titan’s fur looked extra fluffy. “I always love getting the big, hairy, matted dogs to work on,” she said.

Millee looked at her in surprise. “You do? But aren’t they more work to groom?”

Aunt Jodie nodded. “Oh yes, but they’re the most fun. They have the most remarkable transformations. And they’re always the ones that make me think about the Lord.”

Millee’s eyebrows scrunched together. “What? How do shaggy dogs make you think about the Lord?”

Aunt Jodie picked up another brush and helped Millee work out the tangles. “When I’m cleaning and grooming a particularly shaggy and dirty dog, I’m reminded of what Jesus does for me. Because He died for my sins on the cross, I’ve been made clean and declared righteous, which means I’m faultless in God’s eyes. And day by day He is also washing me, cleansing me, and transforming me more into His likeness.”

Millee smiled. “And that’s an even bigger transformation than we’re giving to Titan.”

Aunt Jodie nodded. “It sure is.”

–Emily Tenter

How about you? Have you been washed and cleansed by Jesus? If you’ve trusted Him as your Savior, He has washed your sin away and made you right with God. And day by day, as He forgives your wrongs and helps you love others and turn from sin, He is making you more like Him. It’s quite a transformation! If you haven’t yet trusted in Him, you can have a clean heart and new life today. (To learn more, go to Have You Heard the Good News?)

Today’s key verse: For by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy. Hebrews 10:14 (NIV)

Today’s key thought: Jesus transforms us