The end

This morning a good friend from Texas sent me a text to let me know that their beloved dog had passed away. He talked about how sad it was, but he also talked about the joy his family experienced for many years with that pet. It is easy to get attached to our pets. 

Only twice have we had an inside pet. One time was before and just after having children. We decided that our house was not big enough for two boys and a pet, so the inside pet became an outside pet. The other time we had an inside dog was when we moved a teenage girl and an adolescent girl from the USA to Germany, and one of their
“deals” they worked out with their parents was that we would let them have an inside dog. I don’t remember a very long period when we did not have a dog as a pet—no matter where we lived. But a cat—I can count those times we have had an outside cat on my hand—and never have we had an inside cat.

On February 8 I wrote a blog entitled “Cats.” I talked about my lack of fondness for cats, but my great fondness for Viola, our farm cat. Today, Viola died. Yes, I was sad. I buried her in the pasture, and before I knew it I was thanking God for letting us have Viola for these past 12 years. I have buried a lot of farm animals over the years, but I don’t ever remember saying a prayer when they died.

Often I have heard some people refer to “dog heaven” or “cat heaven.” I am sure that they really don’t believe that an eternal life exists for their pet, but it is strange to think of an animal having a similar eternal state as mankind. 

It is good that God designed everything so that we would have dominion over animals, fish and fowl while basing our diet on some of them and enjoying others as pets and companions (What is your all time favorite dog movie? Mine is “My Dog Skip.”)

Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth." - Genesis 1:26

But the best news from that passage is not about the relationship between man and his creatures—even though Americans will spend over sixty billion dollars on their pets this year. The best news is that God made us in His own image to live among each other, but when we could not do that successfully he sent Jesus to redeem mankind. Praise! Our passing is not the end, but it is the beginning of our eternal life. Mine is vested in the Lord Jesus. How about yours