54°F
weather icon Clear

Literary Las Vegas: Donald H. Hart

A litter of newborn pups shared Jesus’ stable and his birthday. Shortly after birth, one of the six miraculously opened his eyes, struggled to reach Mary’s feet and nudged his way between mother and newborn child.

Little Shomer, “protector” in Hebrew, spent the rest of his life watching over his new best friend and master, or at least that’s how Las Vegas author Donald H. Hart likes to tell it. His book, “If Jesus Had a Dog,”reimagines traditional Bible stories through the eyes of a loyal canine.

Hart writes that it’s no coincidence that God spelled backward is dog. And he thinks the perfect love of a pet is an apt metaphor for God’s unconditional love.

“What better way to present you Jesus and his life, his ministry and his message than with his ‘best friend’ ­— his dog,” he writes.

Excerpt:

John gave Jesus a big hug and they made their way to the bank. Sho quickly followed. Sho could not seem to restrain himself and tried in vain to capture the bird of light. A couple of times he took perfect aim on the dove as it hovered around Jesus. Sho kept swatting at the mysterious light form. Every time he was able to zero in on it, his paw would simply pass through the dove and Sho did not know what to make of this. Even though this was such a sacred moment, both Jesus and John laughed as hard as ever as Sho was trying to catch the Spirit of God.

God was showing Jesus that even in a sacred moment as this it was alright to be human and laugh.

Don't miss the big stories. Like us on Facebook.
THE LATEST