We have mourned for two months, ever since losing our beloved kitty Mr. Cat. As conscientious and loving cat owners, we have mercilessly beat ourselves up-should we have gotten medical attention earlier? Did he die because we somehow neglected him, even though we thought we were doing everything correctly? It’s no exaggeration to say that the two of us have been reduced to tears on a daily basis.
Christmas morning, one of our friends came holding a small sack. When we asked him what was in the sack, he said, “A cat.” And there was a two-month-old male kitten, grey with dark stripes. We immediately named the cat Gabriel because he came bringing good news at Christmas.
Poor little Gabriel is still in shock. Just a day ago, he was running freely around our friend’s compound. Now we have confined him to a large cage, albeit with food, water, a litter box, and a box he can use as a den to hide in. For now, we are using the cage while we try for him to get used to us. Eventually, we hope he will have the run of the house, as well as the outdoors. We are offering him our fingers and hands to sniff, but we are not forcing ourselves on him.
Will we be able to tame Gabriel so that he will become a purring cuddly kitty? Who knows? Cats are always individuals, and you must respect their personalities. Forcing a cat only injures everyone. But when we picked Gabriel out of the sack, I picked him by the scruff of his neck and set him on my chest, where he promptly curled up without biting or scratching. I am hoping for good things in the future.
When it comes to loving God, we are all like feral cats. We want our freedom, and we aren’t interested in being tamed. We have no idea that God’s nature is love and that He only wants good things for us. Even when God provides everything for us, we are still like poor little Gabriel; we fear that this Great Being may harm us. But there is good news for all of us.
Romans 8:18-23 “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the eagerly awaiting creation waits for the revealing of the sons and daughters of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now. And not only that, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons and daughters, the redemption of our body.”
There is one difference between Gabriel the kitty and us: As humans we have a sin problem. When sin entered the world, God was forced to subject the entire creation to futility because of the sins of mankind. Gabriel is part of the creation that waits for redemption. Gabriel does not need a Savior, but we humans do.
Jesus has promised that one day, he will return, not as a baby but as a conquering king. On that great day, all creation will be released from the consequences of human sin.
Isaiah 11:6-9 tells us, “The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb,
The leopard shall lie down with the young goat,
The calf and the young lion and the fatling together;
And a little child shall lead them.
7 The cow and the bear shall graze;
Their young ones shall lie down together;
And the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
8 The nursing child shall play by the cobra’s hole,
And the weaned child shall put his hand in the viper’s den.
9 They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain,
For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord
As the waters cover the sea.”
In that day, none of us will act out of fear, for in that day, there will be no more feral cats. God’s love will unite us all in His Creation as He intended it from the beginning of time, for the knowledge of God and the peace of God will fill the earth as the waters cover the sea.
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