This was written nearly a year ago (11/15/06), but not much has changed. The question is still a good one.
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My dog, Lily, is a strange conglomerate of beagle, basset, and boxer.
She is a beautiful dog of snow white, with a few perfectly placed brown spots. She is lean, muscular, and smart. I wouldn’t know, but she is probably pretty “hot stuff” in the dog world.
You might think that she spends her days sleeping, and when not sleeping, hunting in the yard for squirrels. Yet, while that is partly true, the boxer in her comes through the most.
Taking her for a walk, for instance, is an incredibly difficult task. She pulls and pulls, with her 40 lbs. of muscle, in one way then the next. She walks in front, behind, and to the side. She will race after other dogs, cars, and any faint sound or smell.
Everytime I walk her, my arms end up aching from all of the pulling and jerking.
The question is, who is in charge? Who is leading whom? Am I leading my dog for a walk, or is she leading me?
The Apostle Paul addresses this same question in Romans 8:14, where he discusses the relationship between the “dog” of the flesh and the Spirit of God: “For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.” (NASB)
