This dog is unattractive to say the least, but, look at what its doing; consoling its master. Somehow, it almost makes it human, because caring and consoling another is a characteristic of our species. I wonder, if that is our trait, then what about God? Paul says...
2 Corinthians 1:1-7 (WEB)
1) Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus through the will of God, and Timothy our brother, to the assembly of God which is at Corinth, with all the saints who are in the whole of Achaia:
2) Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
3) Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort;
4) who comforts us in all our affliction, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, through the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.
5) For as the sufferings of Christ abound to us, even so our comfort also abounds through Christ.
6) But if we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation. If we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you the patient enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer.
7) Our hope for you is steadfast, knowing that, since you are partakers of the sufferings, so also are you of the comfort.
1) Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus through the will of God, and Timothy our brother, to the assembly of God which is at Corinth, with all the saints who are in the whole of Achaia:
2) Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
3) Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort;
4) who comforts us in all our affliction, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, through the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.
5) For as the sufferings of Christ abound to us, even so our comfort also abounds through Christ.
6) But if we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation. If we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you the patient enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer.
7) Our hope for you is steadfast, knowing that, since you are partakers of the sufferings, so also are you of the comfort.
Paul is giving the Corinthians consolation; something they obviously needed. He can do this because he has been through trials and has been comforted by God. If you have ever suffered, then you know how much a word of encouragement can mean. Yesterday, something unsettling happened that upset both my wife and I. Two of my grandchildren were over for a visit and when I took them home I hardly said a word (which is a clear indication that either I am sick or something is bothering me). Just before I dropped them off, my granddaughter, Elizabeth, started singing "Does your chewing gum lose its flavor on the bedpost overnight" and it changed my whole mood. If just a few choruses of a song can effect such a change, imagine getting a letter from an apostle of Jesus. For that matter, I wonder what it would be like to really know that God himself was comforting me? It probably won't be something like a paw on the knee and a tender look, but you never know...God works in mysterious ways.
ps. Thanks again, Lizzy!!!