Caring for the Underdog

Today’s Reflection

Our intimate relationships with animals call us to love the outsider and care for the underdog—the ones who are rejected or who might be discarded.

—Betsy Singleton Snyder & Gayle McKuin Fiser, New Tricks: How Pet Ministry Can Transform Faith Communities and Change Lives (Upper Room Books, 2025

Today’s Question

Whom have you rejected that God cares for deeply?

Today’s Scripture

[Jesus] answered, “It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” She [a Canaanite woman] said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.”—Matthew 15:26–27 (NRSVUE)

Prayer for the Week

God, give me opportunities to practice loving others so that I can learn to love like you. Amen.