Making Friends

John 13:34,  "A new command I give you: Love one another.  As I have loved you, so you must love one another."

        My son-in-law, Mat, is not particularly a dog lover.  He told me years ago that he especially disliked chihuahuas because they yip and bark so much.  Imagine his dismay when my daughter Weety and her family gave me a chihuahua for Mothers' Day two years ago.  This little dog, Honey, lived up to every negative expectation Mat had about chihuahuas.

        She is a yipper, a barker, a squealer, and a growler.  She and Mat took an instant dislike to each other.  Honey fussed at Mat more than anybody else.  And you could see Mat grimace whenever Honey was in the vicinity.

        But miracles do happen.  Suddenly one night Honey jumped into Mat's lap, and he began to pet her.  I watched this scene in absolute astonishment! I couldn't believe the change in their relationship.  This wasn't a one time occurrence.  These former enemies have become friends.

        Mat told me that his relationship with Honey had taught him a spiritual lesson.  When he changed his attitude toward Honey, she changed her attitude toward him!  Mat had never been overtly unkind to the dog, but she had apparently sensed his dislike.  She also sensed, and responded to, the change in his attitude.

        One of the best ways to change a person we dislike is to pray for him or her on a regular basis.  Ask God to bless that person. Are there any people  in your life who might change their attitudes toward you if you had a different attitude toward them?  Why not try it and see what happens?  You just might make some new friends.

Father, may we have Your attitude, Your love, toward every person we know.  Help us to pray for those whose dispositions are prickly to us and to make new friends of those we have disliked.  Amen.