A small white and brown dog is running loose over by the church. It often just stands in the middle of the field next to the church or trots around the parking lot. When anyone approaches it or even calls, it takes off. Mary, the pastor’s wife, has been putting out some food and water. A neighbor has set out a dog carrier on the the corner of the lot, but I don’t think it has used it. No one has been able to get close–it just skitters off.
Of course, one can’t help but wonder what has made it so afraid. It doesn’t just cringe when you raise a hand; it bolts when you take a step. Who knows what mistreatment it has endured? And now it is running from the very people who want to help it.
I suspect a lot people have this kind of relationship with the church and God. They have been hurt, made afraid, and don’t know who to trust. They hang around the edges of the church distrusting (sometimes with good reason) people who claim to love them. They stand alone shivering in the rain. No one can get close enough to help them.
