Why My Family Doesn’t Know Him Through Me
an inconsistent pointer’s lament
by Sherry Kirton
17 Sept. 2001

Ever worked with dogs? I know few people who haven’t played with a dog at least once in their lives, however that isn’t what I am talking about.

Ever gone hunting with them? There are two kinds of hunting dogs, the retriever and the pointer. Retrievers run ahead and pick the game up in their mouths, gently and with as little drooling as possible in order to bring the game straight to the hunter.

The pointer also runs ahead. But the pointer runs ahead even before the hunter shoots the the food. The pointer’s main job is to find the hidden game and point to it. The whole body is involved. From the tail to the nose every part of the body is stretched and taught... even the whiskers turn toward the game. The dog’s barks or bays alert the hunter to the found food.

Unfortunately, my family has known many dogs and it has watched this dog grow and learn from re-birth. As a pup I barked and bayed at the hunters when I was upset as much as when I was pointing to God’s presence. I was an unreliable pointer. I tried to point when the hunters were resting more than when they were involved in a hunt. And, I barked and pointed when the hunters were teasing and trying to play.

As I grew I found I was getting better at it, but the hunters were weary of my barking. They no longer trusted the growing pup and they looked for other breeds of pointers. However, the other breeds didn’t point to the presence of God, but to other gods, and yet, they were well trained and consistent.

This dog didn’t give up on the family, but hoped that the continued barking might draw their attention away from the other breeds, but it seemed to only infuriate them.

Had I been a retriever I would have chased after God first and when I had caught His truth, I would have brought it back to the hunters and laid it at their feet. Had I done that consistently, my family would have eventually figured it out. Or even had I been trained to point properly I would have known to stay pointing at the truth until a hunter came to understand what I was doing. And then, I should have done it again.