Bulldog vs. Poodle

The other day, I came across an encouraging article in magazine called The Word for Today, which focused on James 4:8: "Draw near to God and he will draw near to you." (NJKV).

"The story's told of a bulldog and a poodle who were arguing one day. The bulldog was making fun of the poodle, calling him a weak little runt who couldn't do anything. The bulldog said, "I challenge yo to a contest. Let's see who can open the back door of their house the fastest and get inside." The bulldog was thinking that he would turn the doorknow with his powerful jaws, while the poodle was too small to even reach the knob of his back door. But the to bulldog's surprise the poodle said, " I can get inside my house faster than you can. I accept the challenge." So with the poodle watching, the bulldog rand to the back door of his house and jumped up on the doorknob. He got his teeth and paws around it and tried to turn it, but he couldn't get enough grip on the knob to do it, so he finally quit in exhaustion. Now it was the poodle's turn. he did just what he'd been doing every day for the last several years. He went up to the door and scratched a couple of times, then waited patiently. Within a few seconds, his master not only opened the door, but picked him up in his arms, patted him on the head affectionately and carried him inside.

The difference was in the relationship. some of us are bulldog Christians. It's all grunting, growling and trying to please God. Give it up! All God asks us to do is, "Draw near to Me and I will draw near to you." "

Now when I read that, I immediately looked at my life and thought, "Guilty as charged". I must admit that a lot of my Christian life had been "bulldogging"; habits of the past included forcefully reading my Bible, forcefully *praying*, and worst of all, thinking that I was not good enough because of my past wrongs, plus plenty more. Although I'm not as much of a "bulldog" as I was before, I still face this problem today. Some of my habits have diminished, while others still remain. Having said that, it's good to know, then, that God doesn't need us to be *perfect*, so to speak. All we need to do is to go ahead and draw near to Him. Now, in my life, I emphasise the *go ahead* part because usually, I find it hard to do, especially if I've sinned. When you feel guilty or your wrongs, it's hard to approach God, who hates wrong. But the question in my mind is: If I don't draw near to God, what can I draw near to to fix my sin?

I'm just thankful that God is willing, in fact, he deeply wants us to draw near to him. Also, I thank God for answering my past prayers to chip away this "bulldog" attitude of mine. It's been a long and painful journey, but I believe it's gonna be worth it.