Images images images - stories stories stories. Jesus enriched his teaching with illustrations taken from the daily lives of his listeners. If they had cats and dogs, rabbits and hamsters, I'm sure there would have been stories about the runaway hamster or the disobedient dog. But I don't think they did - they were all sheep and shepherds as far as animals were concerned, with a few pigs and sparrows thrown in for good measure! But in the Old Testament there were some other animals. And in today's psalm the writer tells how all the animals of nature, large and small, tell us how wonderful God is. From the largest elephant to the smallest mouse, their design shows us so much about how much God cares about the earth he created. Everyone looks to God to give them food when they need it. Have you ever thought about animals who expect to receive food from God? When God opens his hand, the psalm says, animals are satisfied with good things. But does this mean anything when we think about our pets? Let's consider dogs. They depend on us rather than God to give them their Chappie or their Pedigree Chum, don't they? But think about it: Here's an image that Jesus didn't use but I think is quite helpful. What relationship do our dogs have with us? They depend on us for food and shelter. We train them and, with any luck, they obey us when we tell them to sit or keep up. They're watching us, right? With those warm brown eyes that melt your heart. And what about our attitude towards them? When they accidentally pee on the carpet or run away while we take them for a walk? Do we beat them and chase them out of the house forever or never take them for a walk again? Obviously not! We tell them they are bad and then we forgive them and hug them. As we grow up, our love for dogs is what we would call unconditional, isn't it? Children, that's a big word, which means no matter what they do, we will still love them and take care of them. Why? Because I'm a member of the family. Just like the sheep in Jesus' time, perhaps, they were an integral part of the shepherd's family. I imagine that few of us have pet sheep, but I would suggest that the relationship between us and our dogs is a pretty clear picture of the relationship between God and us..