Today I am going to share about our cat
Gurt. When Gurt's mother was pregnant, Christopher (my youngest son,
8 years old at the time) loved yogurt more than any other food. We
like to play around with words and we would break yogurt up to “Yo!
Gurt.” We joked that we could name one of the kittens Yogurt and
call it saying Yo! Gurt. Well, her name ended up being just Gurt, or
Gurt Gurt.
Have you ever heard the expression "Curiosity killed the cat”? Well, that describes Gurt. She has to
examine and explore everything. She has to check out every box, every
surface of the house, and the “great wilds” around our home. She can be extremely mischievous.
As in the photo above, she is
frequently in the way. She used to love sitting on the monitor, often
with her tail in the way of the screen. (She would still do it except
we now have flats screen monitors). As a kitten she and her
littermate would climb the Christmas tree and attack each other from
the top limbs, toppling the tree more than once. S he loves to get on
my desk and knock papers onto the floor. She jumps up onto my
wardrobe where I have things collecting for a clothing exchange at
church. She knocks down some things, or makes herself comfortable and
takes a nap. I then have to re-wash the items she has covered with
fur. It doesn't matter what I try to do to stop her from jumping up
there, she finds a way.
She has figured out how to open doors
that do not latch, such as our bathroom door. She lets herself in
when I am taking a shower, letting out all the warm air. I then have
to get out into a very cold bathroom. Her favourite time to seek my
attention is when I am in that room.
The most frustrating thing is when she
brings me presents from the great wilds around our house. A lot of
people share stories about how their cats will leave dead mice as
presents. Well, Gurt loves to play. So, she brings me live critters
so I can play, too. (Chipmunks are much worse than mice – they
climb the wall halfway and then throw themselves at you!) From her
frame of reference, as I go chasing mice or chipmunks all around the
house, I am playing. She has the satisfaction of knowing that she has
given her mom a good gift!
I love Gurt. I am sometimes annoyed by
her, especially at her gift of chipmunks! But, really, she is just
being a cat. It is her nature to be curious. It is her nature to
enjoy boxes and heights. It is her nature to hunt and play. It is her
nature to seek attention when it is convenient to her. Some of the
things that frustrate me about Gurt, are really things that endear
her to me (and the rest of the family).
Well, we are made in the image of God.
In some ways, the way we love our pets has similarities to how God
loves us. Just as I accept Gurt's sometimes frustrating behaviour,
realizing it is simply her nature as a cat, God accepts us. It was
only in the past few years that I came to understand that God knows I
am human and He is OK with that. In print, that statement seems so
basic, so obvious. However, for over 20 years as a Christian, it was
anything but obvious!
I understood that God loved me.
However, I felt like He was always disappointed in me. As much as I
tried by my power and with His power to get rid of the sin in my
life, I still remain a sinner. For me to understand that God is OK
with that was life-changing. Yes, He wants us to repent and grow,
but He knows that I will not be perfect until I enter the gates of
Heaven.
Rom 5:8 tells us: “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
Did you see that? While I was still a
sinner Christ died for me! While you were still a sinner, Christ died
for you! Jesus didn't die for us at our best, but at our worst! He
knows that we are human and it is in our nature to sin. He loves us
even with the sin in our lives!
I had a prayer walk the other day where
I tried to understand how He could hate sin so much, yet love us
sinners. It is so hard for me to separate the sin from the sinner. I
got the response that He delights in our transformation. He delights
with every change in our lives that brings us closer to our original
glory. He loves it when we repent.
Jesus
declares in Luke 15: 7, “I tell you that in the same way
there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents
than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.”
Most of the time we understand
this verse in the context of someone coming to know Jesus. However,
that morning I got the sense that it applies to each one of us with
each sin we repent of. Jesus delights in every step of our journey
that brings us into a closer relationship with Him.
Oh
Holy Father,
We
praise Your wonderful Name! You are a God of great love, mercy and
faithfulness! We thank You for Your Word and the wisdom it provides.
We thank You that it is living and active. A passage can speak to us
is a new way after seeing it one way for many years. Thank You for
our pets and the joy they bring to us. Thank You that You can use
almost anything in our lives to teach us about You. Thank You that
You accept us where we are. You don't just accept us, You love us.
You loved us at our worst. You will continue to love us in ways that
will refine us to become who You want us to be. You delight in each
step of repentance. May there be repentance in my life today that
will bring You joy! May each person reading this also take a step of
repentance that will bring them closer to You. May You open our eyes
and our hearts to see the evidence of Your love that is all around
us!.
All
glory and praise and honour to the God of mercy and love!
