Lucifer was the Lord’s most beautiful creation. He ended up being banished from heaven because of his pride and rebellion. As a result his name was changed to Satan (the opposer) and his obsession ever since has been to try and keep man from worshipping his Creator.
As his tools, there are lies that Satan throws at us: “Why should you worship the God of Israel?” “Isn’t the God of Israel prideful in demanding worship?” But our Lord is not a cruel taskmaster. He does not force us to worship Him as we walk about this earth.
Our Lord created us. He died on the cross for our sins so that we may spend eternity with Him by simply believing in Him. He feeds us and keeps us warm. He protects us from danger. He bandages our wounds. He is ever at our side. He is our faithful companion. He does not turn away from us, even though we turn away from him.
Our Lord takes on the beautiful attributes of ‘Man’s Best Friend’. Our Lord is always ‘Old Faithful’ to us. But this relationship should not stop there. It is not one-sided. We also need to learn about the attributes of a faithful dog. We must ask our self, “Do we always seek the Lord’s companionship and worship Him for what He is rightfully due? As a dog wags his tail and licks his master’s hand as he greets his master at the door, do we long for our Heavenly Master and worship Him with excitement?
The Phrase “Man’s Best Friend” originated in a court of law. Back in October 28, 1869, a man’s dog, named ‘Old Drum’, was shot to death by a neighbor. Animals had no rights back in those days, but the man wanted justice and so he hired three lawyers to sue the man who shot his dog. One of these lawyers, named George Graham Vest (Later became a US Senator from Missouri), is given credit for originally coining the phrase ‘Man’s Best Friend’ during his final summation to the jury. By the time he was finished with his speech, the jury only took two minutes to reach a verdict. The jury awarded the victim five dollars (a very large amount of money back then). The jury also wanted the guilty man to be sent to prison, but there were no laws governing this type of incident back then so the judge was not able to honor the jury’s request for prison time. The following is a record of the final summation given by the lawyer.
“Gentlemen of the Jury; the best friend a man has in this world may turn against him and become his enemy. His son and daughter that he had reared with loving care may become ungrateful. Those who are nearest and dearest to us, those whom we trust with our happiness and our good name, may become traitors to their faith. The money that a man has, he may lose. It flies away from him when he may need it most. Man’s reputation may be sacrificed in a moment of ill considered action. The people who are prone to fall on their knees and do us honor when success is with us may be the first to throw the stone of malice when failure settles its cloud upon our head. The only absolutely unselfish friend a man may have in this selfish world, the one that never deserts him, the one that never proves ungrateful or treacherous is his dog.
A man’s dog stands by him in prosperity and poverty, in health and sickness. He will sleep on the cold ground, when the wintry winds blow and the snow drives fiercely, if only he can be near his master’s side. He will kiss the hand that has no food to offer, he will lick the wounds and sores that come in encounter with the roughness of the world. He guards the sleep of a pauper as if he were a prince. When all other friends desert… he remains.
When riches take wings and reputations fall to pieces, he is as constant in his love as the sun in its journey through the heavens. If fortune drives the master forth an outcast into the world, friendless and homeless, the faithful dog asks no higher privilege than that of accompanying him to guard him against danger, to fight against his enemies, and when the last scene of all comes, and death takes his master in its embrace and his body is laid away in the cold ground, no matter if all other friends pursue their way, there by his grave side will the noble dog be found, his head between his paws and his eyes sad, but open in alert watchfulness, faithful and true even to death.”
Annointing 