Weekly Devotion

March 24 2020

                                                  Puppy Size – Luke 23:44-46

     Danielle’s mother looked at the animal shelter volunteer and said, “We’ve been back to this
shelter at least five times. It has been weeks since we started all this.” “What is it that she keeps looking for?” asked the volunteer. “Apparently she is looking for the puppy that is the right size.” replied Danielle’s mother. “Well we have plenty of puppies here if that is what she is
looking for.” “I know. We have seen them all,” said Danielle’s mother in frustration. Just then
Danielle came walking into the office. “Well did you fine one?” asked her mom. “Not this
time,” Danielle said with a tone of sadness in her voice. “Can we come back on the weekend?”
The two women looked at each other, shook their heads and laughed. “You never know when
we’ll get more dogs. Unfortunately there’s always a supply,” said the volunteer.
     Sure enough they were the first ones in the shelter that Saturday morning. By now Danielle
knew her way around so she headed straight for the section that housed the smaller dogs.
Danielle walked slowly from cage to cage, kneeling occasionally to take a closer look. One by
one the dogs were brought out and she held each one. And then one by one she would say, “I’m sorry. You’re not the one.” She came to the last cage and the volunteer opened the cage door. Danielle carefully picked up a puppy and held it close to her. But this time she took a little
longer.
     “Mom this is it! I found the right puppy! He’s the one! I know it!” she screamed out with
joy. “It’s the puppy size.” “But he’s the same size as all the other puppies you’ve looked at and
held over the last few weeks,” Mom said to her. Danielle looked up at her and said, “No Mom,
not size, sighs. When I held him in my arms he sighed. Don’t you remember? When I asked
you one day what love is you told me that love is based on the sighs of the heart. The more you love the bigger the sigh.”
      Mom didn’t know whether to laugh or to cry. “Mom every time you hold me I sigh. When
you and Daddy come home from work and hug each other you both sigh. I knew I would find
the right puppy if it sighed when I held it in my arms. And he did.” Then holding the puppy up
to her face Danielle said, “Mom he loves me. I heard the sighs of his heart.”
      In our Scripture reading we have what I believe to be the greatest moment of love that has ever been given or shared with us. In v. 46 we read that Jesus shouted out to God, “Father I entrust My Spirit into Your hands” / “Father into Your hands I now entrust My Spirit”. And then with these words Luke tells us that Jesus “breathed His last”. In the Greek that Luke writes His Gospel he uses the word here “hex-pen-eusen” which is translated, “He breathed out His last.”
Basically the last thing that Jesus did on the cross was to sigh.
     To me this is the true message of both this story and the Scripture passage. That at His last
moment Jesus sighed because He knew that His work of love and sacrifice wasn’t just over but
more importantly had now been completed. And as Jesus completed the work of love that God
the Father had sent Him to do He sighed. And as He sighed who do you think was on His mind?
That’s right. You and me.


Prayer: Dear God, thank You for the sighs of Your heart that brought Your love into our lives
through the power of the cross of Your Son. And let Your sighs also now be heard in our lives
as we seek to love one another as You love us. Amen.


Rev. Sam Burton,
Southaven 1 st United Methodist Church