Have you ever tried to climb over a fence? It isn’t so difficult if the fence is not very high. But the fence in this story was six feet high, and it kept cows inside a pen at the Ken Meyer Meats Company in Cincinnati, Ohio. One of those cows was not very happy behind this fence, and she surprised everyone by jumping over it and starting down the street.
Now it’s rather unusual to see a cow heading down a street in town, and this one attracted lots of attention. She stopped traffic and walked across lawns. She finally disappeared into the nearby Mt. Storm Park - a large 54-acre park with lots of trees.
Lots of people were concerned about the cow. After all, it wasn’t very far to the I-75 highway and other busy streets, and police said she was a “public safety hazard.” But this cow went right on her way, disappearing into the thick trees of the park, and no one was quite sure how to catch her again. She was going her own way and not at all interested in coming back.
It isn’t only cows that run away. Have you considered that you and I are runaways? The Bible says, “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way” (Isaiah 53:66All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. (Isaiah 53:6)). That means that boys and girls, and grown-ups too, are not really in a safe, protected place. We have sinned, and our sins have put us on a dangerous road. Matthew 7:1313Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: (Matthew 7:13) says, “Broad is the way, that [leads] to destruction.” Each day you and I get a little older, and someday we will come to the end of our lives. What will happen after that? If we keep going our own way, our lives will have a very sad ending.
The cow in our story probably felt safe as she wandered around in that park. However, there were lots of people trying to find and catch her. The city of Cincinnati sent out dogs, helicopters and the Cincinnati police. Volunteer cowcatchers were on her trail too, and they all searched for her for a long time. Six days later they even brought in a professional cow wrangler to catch her. A week later they were still trying! Then the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals along with park rangers, police and the Ohio Department of Natural Resources met together to map out a master plan for finding that cow.
There is Someone who is searching for you and me too, as we go carelessly our own way, unaware of the danger ahead. The Bible tells us that the Lord Jesus has “come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:1010For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost. (Luke 19:10)). The Lord Jesus knew that our sins would put us in terrible danger; He knew that sinners were headed to destruction. But He loves you and me, and He wanted to rescue us from our sinful path. There was only one way that the price for our sins could be paid, and so the Lord Jesus paid that price Himself. He let evil men nail Him to a cross, and there God punished Him for the sins of every person who would accept Him as their Saviour. And that’s all that you and I have to do now - come to Him in prayer, admitting we are sinners in need of salvation and thanking Him for paying that price in our place. Then our dangerous wandering days are over!
But the wandering days for the cow weren’t over yet. On the eighth day the city set up temporary pens in the park, brought other cows into the pens, and hoped that the escaped cow would join them. That didn’t work either. It wasn’t until the eleventh day that they finally caught the runaway and loaded her into a trailer.
Now this cow had escaped from a meat-packing plant, and it is hard to imagine a happy ending for the story. But a man named Peter Max, an artist from New York, read her story and decided to buy her for himself. He donated a number of expensive paintings to an auction and was given the captured cow in return. He named his new purchase “Cinci Freedom” and chose to ship her to an animal sanctuary in New York. There she will spend the rest of her life contentedly grazing on the green grass in that quiet place.
Peter Max paid a high price to save the life of that wandering cow. But his price was absolutely nothing in comparison to what the Lord Jesus paid to rescue sinners from a lost eternity. The Lord Jesus was willing to die for us. He suffered terrible pain and a cruel death, and He shed His precious blood that our sins could be forgiven and blotted out. Now He invites you and me to share His beautiful home in heaven where there will be no more death. The cow in our story will eventually die, but those who have had their sins taken away by the precious blood of Jesus will live with Him forever in heaven.
God offers us eternal life as a gift - the price has already been paid. “The gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:2323For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 6:23)). Have you accepted that wonderful gift?
ML-04/11/2004