“The righteous care for the needs of their animals, but the kindest acts of the wicked are cruel” Proverbs 12:10
Sadly, our family has experienced the heartbreak of losing a beloved pet. Yet some Christians don’t understand the love many of us feel for our animals, downplaying their life and place in our world and in our hearts, believing it’s not godly for us to care as deeply as we do for them.
Mistakenly, this sometimes includes the belief that if we care for the lives of animals, we are somehow making human life less important on Earth. But it’s not true. God calls us to care for both.
For individuals who don’t understand our losses, there is compassion for them, realizing they most likely have not ever experienced the joy of being on the receiving end of a pet’s devotion and affection.
Looking at Scripture, we read how God lovingly created each one, giving them life, and taking pleasure in His creations. Genesis 1:25 describes how “God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.”
As God called animals good, He also called us to care for them. As Genesis 1:26 states, “Then God said, ‘Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.’”
God’s blessing is on us to care for animals, and He has put them in our care because His concern for them didn’t end at creation. He went to great extent to have Noah build an ark big enough to save His living creatures, too, going to great effort to build a vessel big enough to save both humans and animals during the Great Flood.
As Genesis 7:14 describes, “They had with them every wild animal according to its kind, all livestock according to their kinds, every creature that moves along the ground according to its kind and every bird according to its kind, everything with wings.”
And for those who were not inside the ark, the ones lost in the flood, Genesis 7:22-23 describes how God included both humans and animals in noting who perished. “Everything on dry land that had the breath of life in its nostrils died. Every living thing on the face of the earth was wiped out; people and animals and the creatures that move along the ground and the birds were wiped from the earth. Only Noah was left, and those with him in the ark.”
He saved both humans and animals, as explained in Genesis 8:1. “But God remembered Noah and all the wild animals and the livestock that were with him in the ark, and He sent a wind over the earth, and the waters receded.”
God’s plan after the Flood included men, women, and living creatures. Once the flood waters receded, He told Noah, “Bring out every kind of living creature that is with you—the birds, the animals, and all the creatures that move along the ground—so they can multiply on the earth and be fruitful and increase in number on it” (Genesis 8:17).
As well, God’s gift and promise of the rainbow is not only to humans but to all living creatures of every kind on the earth. Genesis 9:14-16 explains, “Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will remember my covenant between Me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life. Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth.”
Although there are heated debates at times as to whether or not there are animals in heaven, the Apostle John describes when he sees Jesus in Heaven. “I saw Heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and wages war” (Revelation 19:11).
John then describes what he saw next: “The armies of Heaven were following Him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean" (Revelation 19:14).
The Prophet Isaiah also describes a time coming when “The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them. The cow will feed with the bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox” (Isaiah 11:6-7).
Through Revelation’s accounts of horses and Isaiah’s descriptions of animals’ peaceful cohabitation, we have the hope of enjoying God’s creatures forever.
Let’s Pray:
Dear Father,
With grateful hearts for all the joy and devotion they give us, we thank You for entrusting us with the care of Your living creatures. Help us to appreciate the great lengths You went to in creating and preserving their lives for us and soften the hearts of those who don’t understand the joy that comes in caring for them.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen
Photo Credit: ©Getty Images/Sviatlana Barchan
Lynette Kittle is married with four daughters. She enjoys writing about faith, marriage, parenting, relationships, and life. Her writing has been published by Focus on the Family, Decision, Today’s Christian Woman, kirkcameron.com, Ungrind.org, StartMarriageRight.com, and more. She has a M.A. in Communication from Regent University and serves as associate producer for Soul Check TV.
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