"Don't matter how much money you got, there's only two kinds of people: there's saved people and there's lost people." Bob Dylan
I know that many people in the Dominican Republic love their pets--they must because pet stores and vet offices are as numerous here as Starbucks coffee shops are in California. Yet, there is an enormous population in this country of stray dogs and cats. Every day, as I walk in my neighborhood or run errands in my car, I see a pound-full of strays. Many of the dogs are limping from being hit by cars. Daily they dig through trash and more than once I've seen people throw rocks at them. And the cats--they're often a sorry bunch as well. So, when my husband discovered a small kitten stuck in the drainpipe next to our carport, my compassion went into overdrive.
(Yes, this is a cat story. But it's more, I promise....)
After several hours and some gentle prodding with a stick, the fur ball inside of our drain revealed himself. He was scared, injured and barely able to walk due, it appeared, to being hit by a car or motorcycle. He was also hungry, dirty, severely dehydrated, and covered with fleas. And, oh yes, his belly was full of parasites. How could we ignore such a mess? He needed medical help, food, shelter, and love so my family sprung in to action. My husband Rob took him to the vet (the bill came to $15--about the price of two lattes and a couple of scones), I gave him medicine and treatments for the fleas and parasites and we all took turns feeding and holding him. Almost immediately, the kitten--we named him "Bo"--responded. He began to heal, and grow stronger. The more he trusted us, the more relaxed and content he became. We adopted him and he joined our family. And soon, the REAL Bo emerged. It turns out he's not mellow and shy, but rather full of energy and extremely friendly. In the process of helping Bo, and it was a process, we were given a living illustration of God's love for us.
No matter our backgrounds and whether we realized it at the time or not, before knowing Christ we were a mess like Bo. We were in need of a Heavenly Father who would accept us in our "yuckiness" and take us in. We were and are given on-going love and attention and, because we are human and in need of it, forgiveness. When we received Christ we were given the gift of comfort from the Holy Spirit. God continues to strengthen us (Isaiah 40:31) and has given us a "future and a hope" (Jeremiah 29:11). In Christ, we have a Savior.
That's truth to bask in....like Bo at the moment, asleep on my couch in the patch of sunlight shining on him through the window. Content to be saved.
"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation...All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation..."
2 Corinthians 5:17a & 18a
