Until the Last Dog Dies
By: Jack Wyman
A teacher held an essay contest. Define friendship, she asked her students. There were many good definitions offered. The student who won the contest wrote:
“A friend is the one who comes in when the whole world has gone out.” That’s a difficult definition to improve on.
We all put a premium on loyalty when it comes to friendship. None of us wants to be considered a “fair-weather friend” and none of us would consider convenient friends true friends. We know who our friends are, not when things are easy but when they are hard. That’s always been the ultimate test of friendship.
A true friend will be there—no matter what the cost. Faithful friends are the very best friends. That’s the friend we want—and the friend we want to be.
There’s an old Ozark saying about being with someone—being a true friend—standing with him “until the last dog dies.” It’s quaint, it’s simple, and it’s Southern. I’ve always liked it. It colorfully expresses the most valued attribute of friendship: loyalty.
God understands this. He knows we need the assurance that he will always be there for us—no matter what, no matter when. God has made this much clear to us: “I’m not going anywhere.” All the other divine attributes are enriched by God’s faithfulness.
His love, his mercy, and his grace, for example, are often described in scripture as “everlasting.” They will never change. They will never run out. We need to remember this—and to stake our daily lives upon it—especially when the boat of our faith rides on stormy seas.
Especially when we feel God is far off. When we can’t sense his presence. I’ve had those times. Haven’t you?
In the depth of his suffering, Job says he sought God in vain. “But if I go to the east, he is not there; if I go to the west, I do not find him. When he is at work in the north, I do not see him; when he turns to the south, I catch no glimpse of him” (Job 23:8-9). It is in those moments when we feel abandoned by God that he is closer to us than ever.
The writer of Hebrews invokes the Old Testament to drive home the abiding presence and faithfulness of God. The One who hung the solar system in space says clearly and simply: “I will never leave you. I will never forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5).
Never.
Those are the same words God spoke to Joshua when God called him to the impossible task of leading Israel after the death of Moses (Deuteronomy 31: 6, 8). The promise he made to the new leader of his chosen people is the promise he makes to you and me.
“I will never leave you.”
Others may turn their backs and walk away. They may abandon; they may forsake, they may leave. They may forget. They might even accuse and condemn. God never will.
God tells us that no matter what happens—and no matter what we do—he will never leave us. He will never withdraw his presence from us, and he will never forsake us. We may sin, we may doubt, and we may stray, but through it all God remains faithful.
Through all our stupidity, arrogance, pride, and dumb decisions, he stays our friend and our God. He will mercifully and patiently bring us back to where we belong—by his side, holding his hand, following his steps.
He loves you that much. He cares about you that deeply.
God’s faithfulness is not dependent on us, and we can all thank God for that. It is rooted in his very nature as God. Paul tells Timothy:
“If we are unfaithful, he remains faithful, for he cannot deny who he is” (II Timothy 2:13). In my times of doubt and distance, I’ve drawn great consolation from the blessed fact that my destiny is not determined by what I do but by “who he is.”
“He cannot deny himself” (KJV). God cannot contradict his divine nature. It is impossible for God to lie. It is impossible for him not to love the worst sinner. It is impossible for him not to love you and me. Why? “God is love” (I John 4:8, emphasis added).
This is not tit for tat—it’s for keeps. This is not predicated—it’s unconditional. It’s neither earned nor deserved. It’s grace. After the author of Hebrews reminds us of the promise of God’s faithful presence, he adds this:
“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8). Here is a simple and glorious confirmation of the immutability of our sovereign God. It is the anchor of our faith—and the unfailing assurance of his faithfulness.
We change. Those we know change. Situations change. Times change. God abides—unchanged and unchangeable. “Be still my soul. . . in every change He faithful will remain.” If God were fickle he couldn’t be faithful.
Alliances shift, loyalties wane, and friendships cool. Time, circumstance, and choices are continually upsetting the applecart of our relationships. Those that endure mean the most.
The most enduring relationship you and I can have—the one that takes us through time and eternity—is our relationship with God. As he neared death, Henry Lyte wrote in his beautiful hymn, “O Thou who changest not, abide with me.”
God is the “friend who sticks closer than a brother” (Proverbs 18:24). John wrote of our Savior: “Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end” (John 13:1, emphasis added).
Nothing changed that. Nothing could. The cross proved it. Even when it seems as if “the whole world has gone out,” he stays.
As he told Jacob, so God promises you: “I am with you, and I will protect you wherever you go. . . I will not leave you.” (Genesis 28:15).
God is going to be there for you. . . “until the last dog dies.”
To order Jack Wyman’s book, “Everything Else: Stories of Life, Faith and Our World”, go to amazon.com, Christian Book Distributors or barnesandnoble.com. It is also available on Kindle and eBooks.
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