I have a Leonberger. He is a giant breed dog that comes primarily from Newfoundland and St. Bernard breeds and looks a touch like a lion.

My Leonberger is a runt. He is terrified of things like the shower, the stairs, and a change in flooring surface. He is, however, a well-behaved and devoted dog with one exception. Some of his following is inappropriate. He greets me by shoving his nose in my crotch. When I squeal, he apologizes by doing the same. He follows closely with nose to backside. This inappropriateness can be a bit frustrating, but he behaves well otherwise.

When I think of my dog, I think he is actually a pretty decent example of how we should follow Jesus (except for his one inappropriate behavior).

He greets me every morning. He follows me around and hangs out with me as I go about my day. When I sit down to work, he will find a spot in view and lie down, keeping his eye on me. When I get up to do something else, he follows. If I leave the house even briefly, he greets me when I return with great exuberance. He is my shadow until we go to bed.

Wouldn’t it be amazing if we lived our lives the same way? What if we greeted God the moment we woke up (before greeting others or checking texts or social media)? What if we followed God, watching where He is working and what He is doing and joining in as we see God at work? What if we quietly rested when our direction was unclear? What if we spoke to God with exuberance every time we seemed separated, even if it was all our own fault? What if we organized our thoughts and actions around God from waking to going to bed?

How would our relationship with God improve if we lived life this way? How would our witness improve if we lived life this way?

Do you talk to God morning, midday, and evening? Do you seek to follow Him throughout your day? Do you try to “serve” God however you wish, or do you look to see what God is doing and join Him? When you aren’t sure what to do next, do you wait on God?

I hope this article made you think.

May God draw you closer to Him so there is no separation between you and God. May you be God’s shadow and imitator. May you become so like Jesus that everyone who sees you recognizes that you have been with Jesus and belong to Jesus.

Trust Jesus

All verses are NASB unless otherwise noted.