The following devotion was written by my neighbour, Colin Noble, who is Chaplain at William Clarke College in Kellyville. Can you identify the characters – maybe even yourself?

I set out for a morning walk with my dog, Tara. She’s a rescue dog – a mongrel – who tips the scales at about 35 kilos. To her, dogs under 10 kilos have always been annoying rodents viewable only as potential food sources. With big dogs she has no problem.

As we left home, my neighbour was returning from a walk with his young, purebred, chocolate Labrador. The dog was off the lead. Excited by seeing Tara, he came sprinting toward us at breakneck speed. At the last minute he stopped, dropped and rolled onto his back, exposing himself to whatever might come from Tara. She had a bit of a sniff. Then he was up and wildly cavorting around in excitement. Three lots of energetic 360 degree turns later, he was back flat on his back, recognising Tara’s seniority, even if not her superior pedigree.

The incident gave me cause to reflect on how we approach God. Are we excited to be with him? Do we race towards him, or come reluctantly dragging our feet? Are we prepared to be fully vulnerable before him trusting in his benevolence? Do we come with bounding joy, or do we come cowering in fear, with our tail between our legs, suspecting that God is likely to hurt us?

James 4:18 says ‘Humble yourself before the Lord, and he will lift you up’. There is great joy to be found in the presence of God. Let’s not misunderstand him as a capricious being who views us as annoying rodents. Nothing could be further from the truth.