On a recent visit to see our new granddaughter in Charleston, South Carolina, I got to take my son’s dog for a walk a couple of times. While it was no match for spending time with baby Betsy Rose, I really enjoyed it. Jack is a “golden,” and he’s a great dog.

On one of those walks, I was reminded of something I saw years ago on an episode of Dog Whisperer, where a lady told Cesar Millan what she said to her dog when it misbehaved. It was a very long sentence, threatening to take him to the pound if he ever did it again. Cesar looked at her and said, “And you really think he understood all that?”

Humans and animals are indeed made differently. It’s not our brain size that distinguishes us from all the animals. While they may be really cool creatures, there are obviously many striking differences. Here are just a few:

• Communication: Animals understand simple words, gestures or tones. They do not comprehend sentences. On the TV show, Cesar made that very clear to the lady. Meanwhile, we humans have developed hundreds of languages, along with thousands of dialects. I have to say, I did not notice Jack having any kind of a “southern accent.”
• Humor: Your cat or your dog, or an elephant or frog for that matter, is not able to appreciate or express humor. Humor requires the ability to see the odd, surreal or ironic. So, I avoided trying to get Jack to laugh.
• Appreciation of beauty: If you take your dog on a trip here in Arizona to the Grand Canyon to gaze on its magnificent splendor, it is simply breathtaking. But does your dog enjoy the beauty? Nope. She’s probably busy looking around for a tree, or a squirrel, or another dog, just like Jack was on our walks.
• Morality: Animals do not have a conscience, or the desire to build character. They learn by training which involves reward and punishment. We, on the other hand, can choose to control our thoughts based on what we consider right or wrong. Unlike animals, we have the unique ability to analyze actions before they are performed.  Jack had full intention of going after that squirrel!
• Worship: In every part of the world, in every culture, humans exhibit a desire to seek, to follow, and to worship a “higher power.” Animals do not. Jack is really an affectionate dog, but trust me, I am not a higher power he has been seeking.

Why Did The Creator Make Us This Way?

There’s a verse in Psalm 139 that talks about how we humans are fearfully and wonderfully made. That means distinctly awesome, or distinguished. But why did God single out human beings to be made in that way? Why did He purposely make us awesomely unique?

Those awesome, distinct qualities I mentioned above, and many more, we have as human beings. Animals do not. The Creator purposely and intentionally gave us free will to choose, and a desire to seek and know a higher power. It is built in; He made me this way.

God did not make us to seek Him and worship Him instinctively, or automatically, like breathing. We breath without thinking; we blink without giving it a thought. Rather, God designed human beings so that worshiping Him would be our free choice. He made us so we could, if we choose, freely seek Him, freely worship Him, freely love Him. He made me this way.

Looking For God

Over the centuries, and to this day, there are those who seek and find the Creator. There are others who choose to worship something other than the One true God. The Bible, in a number of places, refers to the latter as “strange gods.” At one place it says they, “worshipped and served the creature [creation] more than the Creator.”

God certainly knew He was taking a big chance by giving us free will. He could have made us robots – human drones that just automatically praised Him all day long. He didn’t want that.

But the very first two humans used their freedom of will to make a very, very bad choice. In order to fix that catastrophic mess, God sent His Son to atone, to pay the price necessary for all human beings.

And now, as a result of His Son’s completed work, any human being can choose to accept Christ or not. Isn’t it stunningly remarkable that, “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life.”

True Or Not?

God made made me this way. I can choose to believe anything I want to believe. But just because I believe something, doesn’t make it true; just because I don’t believe something doesn’t make it not true.

The Creator gave us free will not so we would determine what is true, but so we could choose to believe what is true. Truth is truth, period. Truth is truth whether everyone believes it or no one believes it.

We human beings are awesomely unique and distinct in having free will. We can choose to seek and find God, the Creator, in His written Word that He gave so we could know Him, love Him and worship Him. In doing so, we will clearly see His Son, Jesus Christ, is God’s promise and plan to give any human being everlasting life.

Jack is a great dog. But it is baby Betsy Rose who can someday choose to accept Christ and gain eternal life. God made her that way!