5/3/2017 0 Comments Yesterday was a sad day.
This was the cat we always teased simply because he put up a fight. Our grandfather would poke at his belly or legs, inciting a growl and a swipe with his clawless paws. This was the cat who kept the dog in her place when she happened to walk a little too close to him. She never understood that he had lost his claws and most of his teeth long ago. This was the cat whose ingrown eyelids and arthritis might have been the reason for his irritation, the reason behind his strange habit of chewing on the legs of my aunt's dining room chairs... Yeah, he was a weird cat. But we loved that stinky furball anyway. On Monday we decided it was almost his time. We gently scratched him behind the ears as he lay, weak, in his favorite spot: the middle of the living room carpet. He attempted to stand and walk, even up the stairs, but his back legs couldn't find balance and he fell onto his side again. Instead of landing on his feet, he fell off the couch. He tumbled down the stairs - ouch. (These were two separate occasions.) So, yesterday, Tuesday, we waited for what felt like an eternity with the poor old cat in the lobby of the pet hospital. We knew what the vet would say. Maybe not the specifics, but we knew he was weak and in pain. We had to leave him there. I didn't think parting with an animal would be so hard until my mom said something to me that gets me every time. This is our fault. "Our" meaning the human race. If it weren't for us humans, this cat wouldn't have to die. If it weren't for our disobedience, no one would have to die. Why, Eve? Why, Adam? You ignored God's warning. You didn't think the serpent was lying when he said, "you shall not die." You didn't think God was honest. You didn't believe He loved you. Now look at what you've done. What's amazing is that even though we humans are the ones who did the damage, we no longer receive the penalty. Instead, our pets do. Let me explain. Adam and Eve didn't believe that God loved them. Today we have evidence that He does. Incarnate in the form of a man, God - Jesus - came to us. It was our fault, but He willingly suffered and even took the wrath of God upon Himself. And now we have the ultimate freedom - life in eternity with Him.
With one approach, you could argue that man was the only creature ever given a law, and therefore no other creature could have sinned. That's probably true, but it goes deeper than that.
Man is truly special to God. No other creature did He breathe into besides man. He created man in His very own image. Who knows if animals go to heaven? We simply don't. But if you have given your heart to Jesus, I hope retrieving your pet is not the first thing on your mind. For me, it will be meeting and worshiping my Jesus in the flesh. Because He loves me extravagantly. He is my Savior. He is my King. Jesus, not my cat, is the best friend I could ever have.
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Lily Calicois an aspiring composer, writer, artist and musician. Archives
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