I'm writing about neither a boy nor a dog, but I thought the title would be heartwarming. And I trust, unless I've grossly misjudged my readership, that you'll agree. What I do want us to consider is transformation and renewal. Romans 12:2 teaches that we should "not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of [our] mind[s], that you many prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect." If I want to live in obedience, to the Lord, understanding what He wants for me, and being of any use to Him, then my mind must be changed. The way I think must not be the way the world thinks. But why must I change? What's wrong with the way that I see things?
Ephesians 4:22-24 holds the answer: "that, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth." The way that the world thinks is being corrupted by deceit. Romans 8:6-8 tells us that "the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so; and those who are in the flesh cannot please God."
The Lord wants us to live our lives in the light, having fellowship with Him (1 John 1:5-10). If we spend our lives in denial of reality, our lives will be marked by frustration and failure. But if we "put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him" (Colossians 3:10), then we are able to live according to the truth. And by the renewing of our minds we are able to prove what the will of God is, and live in obedience to and fellowship with the Creator of the universe, recognizing what is true and what is not. Through transformation and through the renewing of our minds, the Lord is teaching us how to live free from a life that is bound to deceit and is therefore being corrupted.