Faith: Shame we forget how much grace we receive

I’ve long ago forgotten where I found the tale I’m about to relate, but I like it. Personally, I very much doubt that it’s factual; it does, however, hold a lesson or two that are true indeed.

As the story goes, a fellow was walking down the street one day when he saw a hand-lettered sign in a yard: “Talking Dog: Five Dollars.”

Quite curious, the man walked up to the front door of the house and knocked. When an ordinary-looking fellow answered, the guy standing on the porch said, “Pardon me, sir, but I saw your sign. Are you kidding? You’ve got a talking dog? A dog you want to sell for five dollars!?”

“Yes,” the answer came back, “I do have a talking dog that I’d sell cheap. In fact, he’s out in his doghouse now. If you’d like, feel free to go on back and have a chat with him.”

So the fellow went out to the back yard, found the canine sitting calmly in the dog house, and rather sheepishly bent down and asked, “So ... so you’re a talking dog?”

“That’s right,” came back the quick answer. “Yep, started talking when I was just a pup. Been talking ever since.”

“Wow, that’s something!” said the amazed man. “You must have had quite a life!”

“Oh, yes,” replied the dog in excellent, even cultured, English. “Yes, indeed. You see, when people discovered that I could talk, they made over me a great deal. In fact, at one point, years ago now, I spent several years as a CIA field operative.

“You can imagine what a great tool a talking dog would be in the spy game. Why, a talking dog who knows when to keep his mouth shut is better than the best electronic bug money could buy! Hard hours, though, and a tough element to work with. I was once on assignment for such a long time that I ended up losing my wife. She nuzzled up to a basset hound and ran off with him while I was gone.”

After closing what had been a very interesting conversation and thanking the dog for his time, the man walked back to the porch and spoke again to the amazing beast’s owner.

“I still can hardly believe my ears. You’re right. He talks. That’s mystery enough, but why in the world would you be willing to part with a talking dog for just five dollars? Are you crazy? You’d really sell that dog for five bucks?”

“Yeah, he talks,” the owner answered, “but I’d sell him. Why, you can’t believe half of what that dog says.”

Sometimes we expect too much. Sometimes, critical to a (very serious) fault, we focus too much on the flaws of those around us and fail to be properly grateful for the blessings they bring.

God’s children already have the Father’s love. Fully. Completely. Through his Son, we receive pardon. We are completely accepted, just as we are. Through his Spirit, we receive power and healing. It is our Father’s joy to help us become the best and truest selves he has created us to be and, yes, to become better than we are.

But he could not possibly love us more than he already does, and he will never choose to love us less. And having received his grace, we become ever more gracious to those around us.

How sad and dangerous if we forget how much grace we’ve received. Then our spirits shrivel, we live in fear, and we morph into tyrants so hard to please that nothing and no one can meet our “standards.” Then what we breed in our families, coworkers, and associates (I don’t say “friends” because we won’t have any real friends) is not hope but despair.

When you hear a dog speaking the King’s English, you don’t waste time criticizing his grammar or running a background check to make sure he has his facts straight. You just thank God for such a wonder.

Come to think of it, the humans God has put around us don’t have to be even nearly that wonder-full to bless us. If we’ve received grace ourselves, we might seriously consider passing some of it along.

I surely would like to talk to that dog.

Curtis Shelburne writes about faith for The Eastern New Mexico News. Contact him at

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