Our daughter Amy has a hamster named Fluffy. Since Fluffy sleeps all day, we have given him the freedom to climb in and out of his cage and run around part of the house in the evening and all night. He didn’t always have this freedom.
It’s most interesting how Fluffy came to live in our home. Over a year ago I briefly visited a lady who lived across the street. I noticed that her young child was very rough with their pet hamster. I suspected this happened often, and I wondered how much roughness and pain the little hamster had to take. I felt sorry for the little animal and said something about what the child was doing. The mother stopped her child that time.
Knowing the family was soon moving away, I asked the mother if the hamster would be for sale. She said “Yes.” And so I bought him right then and there. I also bought the cage and all that went with it. I took him home where I knew he would be gently and lovingly cared for the rest of his life.
In the beginning, Fluffy was afraid of us. He would try to hide when we came close. But as we gently held him and stroked his fur when we talked kindly to him, he soon was no longer afraid. He seems to be a happier hamster now, enjoying our loving care and the freedom to run around.
When I think of Fluffy’s condition before coming to our house, it reminds me of our sinful condition in this world without having the Lord Jesus as our loving, caring Saviour. It is like being a slave to sin, perhaps afraid, even hurting. I’m also reminded that the Lord Jesus came into this world to rescue us who are helpless slaves to sin. The Lord Jesus loves us and wants us to come to Himself. He has paid for our sins with His blood, by dying on the cross for those who would accept Him as their Saviour. Will you accept His love and let Him set you free? The hamster needed to be rescued, and we need to be rescued too. The Lord Jesus is “not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). “The blood of Jesus Christ His [God’s] Son cleanseth us from all sin” (1 John 1:7). How can I be rescued? “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved” (Acts 16:31).
ML-05/26/1996