“Francis Thompson symbolized God as the ‘Hound of Heaven,' pursuing on relentless feet. With me, God was more like a cat.” Joy Davidman Lewis, The Longest Way Round, in These Found the Way.
I much prefer cats to dogs, but for perverse reasons. I never feel obligated to a cat. If I ignore a cat, it does not whine or languish; it simply goes about its business. A cat’s demands for attention are frequent but not emotional; you can respond or not, they do not care.
Dogs on the other hand are invested. They need to feel affection and can go into a funk if they are ignored.
I would not attribute either of these attitudes to God, in toto.
Like a cat, God does not need anything from us, but He delights in our attention and will persist in giving it to us and seeking it from us. Like a blood hound, He is invested in our salvation, and has shown that He is willing to die to bring us home.
(The Devil, on the other hand, is definitely a feline: "a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour." I Peter 5:8)
http://www.houndsofheaven.com/thepoem.htm
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