Picking Through the Crumbs
By Doug Bing, Washington Conference president
Our Australian shepherd has an intense stare.
She uses this stare on different occasions. At times she will come up, sit at your feet, and just look at you with a longing that cannot be denied. She knows how to work that stare. As she is sitting there staring at you, she waits to see if you are paying attention. If not, she will lay her head on your lap and stare pleadingly at you wanting your attention. She loves to receive all the back and belly rubs you are willing to give.
Her most intense stare, however, is found when you are sitting at the kitchen island eating a meal.
She has learned that there are a few people who just cannot stand it when she stares so pleadingly for just a taste of that wonderful human food that is just so much better than anything ever placed in her dog bowl. Before you go judging us for dropping a few crumbs from the table, just know that when it does happen it is very limited. As she sits at our feet her stare is very intense. She sits there, leans forward, and watches with an intensity that is hard to ignore while she waits for the smallest crumb to accidentally fall . . . or, in our home, waiting for that intentional crumb to surreptitiously be dropped on the floor when no one is looking.
Recently I decided to test the dog.
She was in her usual spot. The stare was in full effect. Instead of dropping a crust of bread or a bite of egg I dropped a blueberry. Her stare followed the blueberry all the way to the floor. She sniffed and ate the blueberry. I was a bit surprised, so I dropped another one. She ate it. Then I dropped a bite of strawberry. Her stare followed it all the way to the floor but this time she decided that strawberries were not fit for her to eat. I tried several different items, and she would take some and leave others.
I, of course, was left to clean up what she chose not to eat.
The Bible tells the story a lady that was seeking healing for her child. The disciples wanted her to go away. Jesus, of course, wanted to do what Jesus does and heal the child. She was not of the Jewish faith but knew that Jesus was compassionate. Jesus said something very interesting to her.
But He answered and said, “It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the little dogs.”
Those are the house pets that had that intense stare waiting for a crumb to fall. The lady answered,
Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their master’ table.
She knew there were crumbs that fell, and she just wanted one. Jesus answered her plea, and her daughter was healed.
But what about the crumbs that fall that are not to our liking?
Have we gotten the habit of picking through the crumbs? We seek God and His blessing and nourishment, but have we gotten picky? Maybe God is telling us what to do and where to go or who to talk to and we don’t want to do it. That is picking through the crumbs and only taking what we want and not all the stuff that we receive from heaven.
This week in your walk with God, consider if you are picking through the crumbs or accepting all God is giving you even when it may not be to your liking. Don’t pick through the crumbs and take only what you like or what you want. God knows what is good for us.