All Dogs Go To Heaven…But All People Don’t
He replied, “Is there a person here who,
finding one of your lambs fallen into a ravine, wouldn’t, even though it was a
Sabbath, pull it out? Surely
kindness to people is as legal as kindness to animals!” Then he said to
the man, “Hold out your hand.” He held it out and it was healed.” Matthew 12:11-13
God’s an animal
lover. I’m convinced of it. We find His creation laden with imagination in
the beginning of Genesis through the varieties of animals he put on the earth
for mankind to enjoy. Go to the zoo sometime and you’ll be reintroduced to
God’s incredible inventive acts. Come
on! From giraffes with giant hearts so the blood
can pump up that long neck to crocodiles with those beady little eyes and tiny
little arms that submerge slightly under the water until some innocent prey
becomes dinner. This doesn’t
even include the lions and tigers and bear, oh my! Psalm 50:10 confirms God’s heart when He
says, “…for every animal of the forest is
mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills.” The unlimited species of bugs,
birds and ocean friends which reveal God’s desire to make life
interesting. I have to admit I love them,
too.
When Stephanie and I
first got married, I had only owned dogs my whole life. We soon owned a Pomeranian
which lived for over 17 years.
Somehow, and I believe it was very calculated, my precious wife eased a
couple of kittens into the house and ultimately they became part of the
family. Buster, our Siamese cat, was
brought into our home four months after we got married and “she” (we forgot to
check) is still going as we celebrated our 20th anniversary last
October making her a junior in college.
I’m not exactly sure what we’ve spent on our 20 year old but I’m sure we
could have paid for a master's degree for her.
This is more the rule than the exception everywhere we turn.
America loves animals. It’s a fact
and the numbers are growing daily.
What’s not to love about them.
They bring joy to our lives like few other possessions and become part
of our families much more easily that the human type that we sometimes
endure.
Veterinarians report
that we, as a society, love our animals.
Consider some of these numbers.
Americans own some 150 million cats and dogs (70 millions dogs and 80
million cats). This is the highest ratio
of any nation to its people. Even animal-loving Britain
has a lower ratio of 1 to 3, instead of America’s
1 to 2.
Over $500 million was
spent by Americans a year to buy pets.
And over $4 billion a year is spent for pet food. That is more than what American’s spend on
babies! There are 3,000 dogs and cat
food makers. The largest-selling dry or
canned food item in the grocery store is pet food- four times more than baby
food sales.
Furthermore, another
$3 billion a year is spent on dog accessories- like gem studded collars,
perfume, gold-plated license tags, beef-flavored toothpastes and breath sprays.
When on vacation, dogs have their
own motels with wall-to-wall carpeting, brass beds and piped-in music.
Years ago, the late
Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton were doing a movie in London.
Not wanting to part from their animals during their shoot, they decided
to rent the world’s most expensive dog kennel which would soon drop anchor in London’s
Tower Pier. The 200-ton luxury yacht-
renting at $10,000 a month (a bargain today) would stay there for two months so
that they wouldn’t have to part from their pets. Britain’s
stringent animal quarantine regulations did not allowe them to take their pets
into the country so they did the next best thing; docked them just off its
coast. The yacht contained a crew of 10
people and four passengers…two long haired dachshunds, a Pekingese and
Yorkshire terrier.” Now that’s
living. Makes me wish they would let me
be part of their family.
All of these thoughts
on animals got me thinking recently how much we pour time into things that
don’t necessarily have an eternal value.
Now mind you, I am an animal lover…and always will be. And I agree with Anthony Destafano, in his
book A
Travel Guide To Heaven, who said that since God placed so much creative
effort into the earth in six days, then you can imagine what He has been doing
in heaven for the past thousands of years.
Since God knows what makes us happy, don’t be surprised if that little
Cinnamon (your late cat) or Tugger (your late dog) just might be waiting for
you at your mansion. After all, dogs
never sin but cats sometimes need a little grace. Whatever the case, there are going to be
lions and lambs so you can imagine it doesn’t stop there.
However, God might
want to renew our love for people who can quietly get discarded if we aren’t
careful. Our callous and careless
hearts for those who need salvation is completely dependent on the redemption
of Christ’s blood is worth an all-out pursuit.
In Matthew 12:11-13,
Jesus used the picture of a love for animals that would fall into a hole on the
Sabbath (and their removal) to describe how much greater our love for people
should be while healing the impaired man.
He said, “Surely kindness to people is
as legal as kindness to animals!” Short people, tall people, slight people, stout people, colorful
people, pale people, and the list goes on.
Christ’s brought an all-out pursuit through constantly praying, giving,
and embracing people for the sake of their salvation. He desires that we do the same. I’ll never begrudge a person for getting
their dog, cat or hamster that special brand of animal food. After all, they
are part of your family. But
let’s never forget that people were
created to be part of God’s family and Christ sacrificed His life to make that
happen. As we give, pray, and
embrace our family, neighbors, and the lost, we can change eternity for
them.
Reflections:
1) Name a pet that meant a great deal to you?
2) Pray for a person in your life that God gives a passion to lead to Him.
Consider reading the Word today:
Copyright 2014- Terry Risser
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