Paul and Sue had three children who wanted a pet of some kind. So Paul went to an animal shelter to choose one. An animal shelter has pets that owners have had to give up for some reason. The shelter takes good care of these animals until a new owner chooses them and will give them a good home with love and care.
Not many dogs were small enough for their house. As he walked along, peering into the cages, Paul noticed the prettiest white cat. But it was a big one! He hadn’t really thought about a cat, but this one was so pretty he couldn’t pass it up. So he put the cage in the car and took it home. That cat was the biggest “scaredy-cat” you ever did see. He wouldn’t eat, and he wouldn’t let anyone pet him. He hid under the couch or under a bed. A day or so later he found an open window upstairs and jumped right out.
All of the children cried, thinking that their pet was gone. But as they searched outside they would catch glimpses of a white cat. They called, “Here kitty, kitty.” But he wouldn’t come. He would only sneak around the edge of their yard in the bushes.
All they wanted to do was to love that cat, and take good care of it... but he wouldn’t let them. Some people act just like that too. When our Lord Jesus reaches out to let them know how much He loves them, they turn away from Him. They try to hide from Him and will not come to His gentle calls. So, just like the white cat, they have to work hard to live. The Lord Jesus said: “Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:2828Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. (Matthew 11:28). He promises loving care and rest, but they will not come!
Dad went back to the animal shelter to ask them for some advice on how to catch the cat. They gave him a cage to use as a trap and told him to put some cat food in it.
Sure enough, the trap worked. But each time it was not their white cat that was caught, but one belonging to a neighbor! As time went on, it seemed they caught nearly every cat in their neighborhood except the one they wanted —their own. So Dad talked to the man at the shelter again, and he said to try putting sardines in the trap. So they reset the trap with a whole can of sardines emptied into it.
That night fierce squalling and screeching came from the cage. When they went out to check, sure enough, there was their big, white cat in the little cage but smelling just awful, for he had rubbed the sardines all over him!
The family made sure all the windows in the house were closed before Dad brought the cage in and let their cat out. My, how that cat smelled! Each day he seemed to smell worse, and so did their house. It wasn’t so easy to love that cat now. But they continued to show him love anyway, even though he still didn’t seem to want it. As time went on the cat learned to trust them, and he soon became a good, clean pet, returning the love that the family gave him.
The Lord Jesus is reaching out to tell sinners that He loves them, in spite of their badness of sins. He died to wash away those sins and badness, and make us clean and happy, too. “Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us.” 1 John 4:1010Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. (1 John 4:10). “Christ died for the ungodly.” Romans 5:66For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. (Romans 5:6). Will you let Him show His love to you and make you happy? Will you let Him wash away all your sins and badness?
ML-04/09/1989