Today, I will have to take one of our family dogs to the vet to stay overnight and have surgery in the morning. When I think about asking for prayer requests it reminded me of several church members over the course of my ministry that seemed embarrassed or apologized for asking for prayers for their family pet. I don't think that you should ever apologize for wanting prayers for a member of your family, even if they have four feet and fur (or even feathers or scales.)
Our pets are God's creatures, created with care and love. They bring love and joy to our homes, which I think are two of God's greatest gifts. They love and trust us unconditionally, even when we don't always deserve it. We could learn to be better people and better Christians if we could love and trust like our pets.
So why are some people embarrassed or afraid to pray for their four footed family members? I think my college Sunday School teacher gave me one example (a bad example in my opinion.) I don't remember what brought the topic up, but our teacher made the statement,"You won't see your dog in heaven, because animals don't go to heaven. They don't have souls." First off, I believe strongly that he was wrong and so did the rest of the class. We argued with him for the whole hour. His main argument was that in the creation story God only breathed life into humans, that gave us a soul... That is not what that says. God's breath gave us life. The soul is not mentioned there at all. In fact the Bible doesn't say one way or another whether animals have a soul. The only thing it says in the creation story is that when God made them, God said that they were good.
OK, so NOWHERE in the Bible does it say either way that my dogs will or will not be in heaven. That doesn't mean that they won't. It means that we haven't been up there to see for ourselves.
So, here is some things that I think about when I consider the furry members of my family who have passed on. In the End, God will be giving us a new heaven and a new earth. That IS in the Bible. God will be recreating things like they were before sin. There were animals in the garden in the beginning, so why wouldn't they be in the kingdom in the end. In fact it says that the lamb will lie down with the lion, and a child will play safely over the adder's den. Yes, I know that this is metaphor, not literal, but it does mention animals being in the kingdom. Many of the Psalms also talk about ALL of creation praising God. Is God going to just ignore that praise?
My second thought is what a waste it would be. God spent a lot of effort creating all the wonderful variety of life that we find here on earth. So, are we just going to assume that in the end God is just going to toss out 99.9% of creation and just keep, what, us and the angels. That would be kind of a boring way for God to spend the rest of eternity don't you think? This is also my argument for life on other planets, but that is a discussion for another day.
So, I believe that these loving, trusting, beautiful creations of our God will be there in heaven. Heaven is supposed to be a place of light, love, joy, and praise. To me it would be so much more joyful with out kitties winding about our ankles, our dogs faithfully by our sides, and while I am at it, the dolphins happily frolicking and squeaking their praise.
Please pray for Snoopy and his surgery tomorrow (Nov. 27). And while you are at it remember to pray for your friends who have lost a four footed family member. Don't be ashamed to pray for the pets that you love, because love comes from God!
Blessings
Monday, November 26, 2012
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
On Being a Gracious Winner and Reconcilliation
When I was little and learning to play Candy Land, Uno, and Go Fish I would get very excited when I won. I would laugh and squeal and clap my hands. So my mother pulled me aside and said, "Honey, you are playing with your friends. How do you think it feels for them when you act like this when you win?" The answer of course was that it makes them feel bad. So, I learned to say, "Nice game" and shake hands and be a gracious winner.
Now, I have been very careful to try not to take political sides during this campaign, because of my 319 "friends" and family on Facebook they are almost 50/50 liberal and conservative. I try to be sensitive so that I will not hurt the feelings of those I care about. Last night showed that our country is divided about the same. The popular vote was almost exactly 50/50. Our nation has never been so divided.
President Obama in his acceptance speech last night showed that his mother (or whomever taught him how to play well with others) taught him how to be a gracious winner. He complemented Romney on a good race. He talked about working together and reconciliation. So I went to Facebook this morning hopeful. Unfortunately, not everyone listened to Obama's speech...
I was actually very surprised at where the mean and hateful stuff was coming from. My conservative family and friends were quietly reflective. They talked about all things working out for good for those who love the Lord, and God wiping away their tears. But I was saddened and discouraged by many of my more liberal family and friends. (Those of you who are being good winners about this, I am sorry. I am not talking to you, but you should be as embarrassed by your colleagues as I am!) My feed was filled with pictures of Big Bird, comments about freeing binders full of women, and mean, snarky comments like "Ding Dong, the witch is dead." I don't think this is what is going to bring about reconciliation to our divided nation.
What worries me is not that they are being really poor winners, but that the comments infer that because they disagree the other side must be either stupid or evil. As I said in a Facebook post yesterday, these are your brothers and sister. They disagree with you politically, that doesn't make them evil. Name calling and gloating is not the way to reconcile with someone you disagree with. Neither is (as one of my liberal friends suggested this morning) dividing the country down the middle and letting the two parties become two countries and go their separate ways.
Now, I don't mean to hurt anyone's feelings, but if we really want to heal our nation, we need to remember a couple of things. The second greatest commandment is "to LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF." When asked, Jesus told a story saying that showed a Samaritan, a hated person of a different race, culture, and political view was the neighbor Jesus was talking about. We are called to love our neighbor.
If you really truly see the opposing party as the enemy and evil, here is a word for you. Luke 6:27ff But I say to you that listen, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.
There needs to be some loving, doing good, blessing, and praying on both sides of this fight this morning. We are still one Nation under God. We need to forgive, and try to accept each other in spite of our differences if our country is going to begin to move forward again. I am basically a peacemaker at heart, and I will be praying for all of my family and friends both conservative and liberal to find a peaceful path TOGETHER.
Grace and Peace...
Now, I have been very careful to try not to take political sides during this campaign, because of my 319 "friends" and family on Facebook they are almost 50/50 liberal and conservative. I try to be sensitive so that I will not hurt the feelings of those I care about. Last night showed that our country is divided about the same. The popular vote was almost exactly 50/50. Our nation has never been so divided.
President Obama in his acceptance speech last night showed that his mother (or whomever taught him how to play well with others) taught him how to be a gracious winner. He complemented Romney on a good race. He talked about working together and reconciliation. So I went to Facebook this morning hopeful. Unfortunately, not everyone listened to Obama's speech...
I was actually very surprised at where the mean and hateful stuff was coming from. My conservative family and friends were quietly reflective. They talked about all things working out for good for those who love the Lord, and God wiping away their tears. But I was saddened and discouraged by many of my more liberal family and friends. (Those of you who are being good winners about this, I am sorry. I am not talking to you, but you should be as embarrassed by your colleagues as I am!) My feed was filled with pictures of Big Bird, comments about freeing binders full of women, and mean, snarky comments like "Ding Dong, the witch is dead." I don't think this is what is going to bring about reconciliation to our divided nation.
What worries me is not that they are being really poor winners, but that the comments infer that because they disagree the other side must be either stupid or evil. As I said in a Facebook post yesterday, these are your brothers and sister. They disagree with you politically, that doesn't make them evil. Name calling and gloating is not the way to reconcile with someone you disagree with. Neither is (as one of my liberal friends suggested this morning) dividing the country down the middle and letting the two parties become two countries and go their separate ways.
Now, I don't mean to hurt anyone's feelings, but if we really want to heal our nation, we need to remember a couple of things. The second greatest commandment is "to LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF." When asked, Jesus told a story saying that showed a Samaritan, a hated person of a different race, culture, and political view was the neighbor Jesus was talking about. We are called to love our neighbor.
If you really truly see the opposing party as the enemy and evil, here is a word for you. Luke 6:27ff But I say to you that listen, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.
There needs to be some loving, doing good, blessing, and praying on both sides of this fight this morning. We are still one Nation under God. We need to forgive, and try to accept each other in spite of our differences if our country is going to begin to move forward again. I am basically a peacemaker at heart, and I will be praying for all of my family and friends both conservative and liberal to find a peaceful path TOGETHER.
Grace and Peace...
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