Paul’s Thorn Episode 16: Who’s a Good Servant? Dogs, Scripture, and Holy Loyalty

Dogs appear in Scripture as symbols of those pushed to the margins, used as insults, metaphors for shame, and reminders of who society believes does not belong. And yet…again and again, dogs show up near the vulnerable—near the sick, the poor, the forgotten. In one of Jesus’ most haunting parables, it is the dogs who draw close to a disabled, suffering man when no one else will. They notice him. They remain with him. They offer what comfort they can.

So today, we’ll ask some deeper questions:
What does it mean that Scripture places dogs alongside the overlooked?
What does it tell us about dignity, worth, and compassion?
And what might we learn about disability—not from the powerful or the praised—but from those who linger at the edges and refuse to turn away?