The Dog Who Can Tell Time!

I’ve become convinced that our dog Sadie is able to tell time—or, at the very least she has a very good sense of time. When I was laid up at home recovering from both back surgery and COVID, I noticed that after breakfast Sadie would take her place in the family room and for the rest of the morning and much of the afternoon, she would sleep. Every so often she might get up and go to a different spot, but she would rarely try to interact with me. However, somewhere between 2:00 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. she would come over to me or to someone else who was in the house and begin to beg to go outside for her afternoon walk. It was like she suddenly came alive. It was as if she knew what time it was.   

This week I’ve been going to my office on a more regular schedule. What I noticed is that, when I come home at lunchtime, Sadie doesn’t even get up to greet me. It’s as if she knows it is too early for her afternoon walk.  But when I come home later in the day, there she is, sitting by the gate that separates the one part of house from the other, as if she’s expecting my arrival. When she sees me, she becomes all excited, practically jumping for joy. It’s like she knows the difference between the first time I came home and the second. I’m convinced that, without knowing how to read a clock, Sadie has her own way of telling time. 

Jesus talks about the importance of knowing what time it is, not according to a clock but based on what is happening in the world around us. Jesus spoke of how the people could tell that summer was on its way based on the branches and leaves of the fig tree. (Matthew 24:32) At one point he said, “When you see a cloud rising in the west, you say at once, ‘A shower is coming.’ And so it happens.  And when you see the south wind blowing, you say, ‘There will be scorching heat,’ and it happens. You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky, but why do you not know how to interpret the present time? (Luke 12:54-56 – ESV) 

Jesus was teaching the people that they needed to learn how to tell time, not based on a clock but based on what was happening in the world around them. And it wasn’t merely about knowing the seasons of the year but being able to sense that the time of the coming of the Kingdom of God was drawing near.  He wanted the people to know what time it was that they might not be caught off guard by what was happening in their world and that they might be prepared for the day of his return. 

Can we sense what time it is? Although we don’t know when Christ will return, I tend to think the times in which we live are pointing to the fact that we are getting closer to that day. With so much happening in our world, now is our time to prepare ourselves and to preach the Good News as never before. 

“Now is the day of salvation!” (2 Corinthians 6:2 – ESV). 

Have a great day! 

                                                                                    

Pastor Tim Harris