We named our fluffy, outdoor kitten Monkey, because the name fit his actions. When he was small, we would bring him into the house to play. He raced around, climbed the furniture and, when we sat down, he swatted at our shoulders from the back of the armchair. He was more like a monkey than a kitten.
As Monkey got older, his play became rough and unpredictable. His swiping paws with their claws sometimes drew blood, and we didn’t know what to expect when we petted him. We decided to give Monkey to some friends who thought they could train him into a nice pet.
Jesus said, “Him that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out” (John 6:3737All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. (John 6:37)). Jesus will never get tired of us and push us away if we come to Him, but, sadly, that is just what we did to Monkey, our pet kitty. We loaded him into the back of our car, drove two miles to our friends’ home and dropped him off. Monkey hid under their bed, probably scared of his new surroundings. Our friends offered him food, water and a litter box, but he stayed under the bed all day.
Not knowing what else to do, they opened the back door to let Monkey outside for just a few minutes. But he rushed out the door, climbed over the fence and disappeared!
Our friends called to tell us that Monkey had run away. We were sorry he was lost, but we didn’t go hunt for him. Our hope was that another family would find him, adopt him and take good care of him.
Do you know that, unlike us, our loving Father in heaven is looking for his lost children? He made a way for you and me to return to Him. He loves us very much, but it’s our sins that separate us from Him. The Bible tells us that “the Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the world” (1 John 4:1414And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world. (1 John 4:14)). He sent His Son Jesus to Calvary’s cross to die for you and me. If we come to Him, we can have our sins washed away by faith in Jesus’ shed blood and be made ready for heaven.
We left some cat food in our garage just in case Monkey came back, but we didn’t expect to see him again. What a surprise when, after two weeks, Monkey showed up at our house! Somehow, he knew which direction to travel to find his old home. Of course, after that we took good care of Monkey, loving him, petting him, feeding him and taking him to the vet when he got sick. Monkey was home!
This reminded us of a story in the Bible about a young man who left his father’s house to live a life of sin. He soon ran out of money, and then his friends left him. When he had nothing to eat except pig food, he decided to go back home and confess to his father that he had sinned in what he had done.
His father saw him coming when he was still a long way off and ran and kissed him. Then he prepared a welcome feast to celebrate his lost son’s return. The father said, “Let us eat, and be merry, for this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found” (Luke 15:2424For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry. (Luke 15:24)).
This is a little picture of God the Father welcoming his lost children back home. Won’t you come home to the loving Father today, confessing that you are a sinner and want your sins washed away in the blood that Jesus shed on the cross?
ML-03/25/2018