"
The news media know that readers like an occasional cute story. And
what could provoke moans of "That's so sweet!" and "How cute!" better
than a story about a dog who rescues two kittens?
Reagan is a Labrador Retriever who came upon a sealed bag of cat food
lying beside a Des Moines, Iowa roadside this summer. Someone had
placed inside the bag several newborn kittens, and then dumped them.
Before Reagan discovered them, the bag had been run over by cars and
only two kittens were alive.
Reagan managed to get his owner's attention focused on the bag, and
the kittens were rescued. Three months later, Tipper and Skipper have
been nurtured to health, and news agencies are having fun with the
fact that "the Gipper" (Ronald Reagan's famous nickname) saved Tipper
and Skipper.
This is certainly a heartwarming story. It also challenges the
stereotype we often hear about how people may be "fighting like cats
and dogs". Normally these creatures are on opposite sides. That's
another dimension of this news story that makes it so appealing.
The Bible, however, provides a superior version of the enemy-helping-
enemy-type story. Jesus told it, and 2,000 years later it still has
instructive value.
You've surely heard about the Good Samaritan who came to the aid of
the Jewish man lying in the ditch. Jesus described this victim of
robbery as "half dead" (Luke 10:30). Without someone's assistance the
man would have died; he could not possibly help himself.
Two other fellow-Jews, men who should have seen their responsibilities
to help, simply "passed by on the other side" of the road (Luke
10:32). The third fellow who came along had been raised in a culture
of highly-charged prejudice. Jews generally despised Samaritans, and
Samaritans felt the same toward Jews.
In this case, though, a natural enemy laid aside his prejudices to
help the victim. Jesus pointed to this as an example for us all: "Go
and do likewise" He said (Luke 10:37). This parable is a legitimate
contender in any contest for the most memorable story in the world.
But that's not the ultimate story in the Bible about an estranged
party helping the other. Paul speaks of that greatest of all examples
in Romans 5: "For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet
perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God
demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still
sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:7,8).
If you fail to grasp the gravity of our situation, consider what Paul
went on to say about the effect our sins have on our relationship with
God: "For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through
the death of His Son ..." (Romans 5:10). By committing sin -
something all of us do (Romans 3:23) - we alienate ourselves from God.
We become His enemies.
This beautiful truth reminds us, however, that God loves us so much
that He is willing to look past our hurtful actions in order to rescue
us. That's far better than any dog-and-kitten stories I've ever
heard!
Timothy D. Hall
The news media know that readers like an occasional cute story. And
what could provoke moans of "That's so sweet!" and "How cute!" better
than a story about a dog who rescues two kittens?
Reagan is a Labrador Retriever who came upon a sealed bag of cat food
lying beside a Des Moines, Iowa roadside this summer. Someone had
placed inside the bag several newborn kittens, and then dumped them.
Before Reagan discovered them, the bag had been run over by cars and
only two kittens were alive.
Reagan managed to get his owner's attention focused on the bag, and
the kittens were rescued. Three months later, Tipper and Skipper have
been nurtured to health, and news agencies are having fun with the
fact that "the Gipper" (Ronald Reagan's famous nickname) saved Tipper
and Skipper.
This is certainly a heartwarming story. It also challenges the
stereotype we often hear about how people may be "fighting like cats
and dogs". Normally these creatures are on opposite sides. That's
another dimension of this news story that makes it so appealing.
The Bible, however, provides a superior version of the enemy-helping-
enemy-type story. Jesus told it, and 2,000 years later it still has
instructive value.
You've surely heard about the Good Samaritan who came to the aid of
the Jewish man lying in the ditch. Jesus described this victim of
robbery as "half dead" (Luke 10:30). Without someone's assistance the
man would have died; he could not possibly help himself.
Two other fellow-Jews, men who should have seen their responsibilities
to help, simply "passed by on the other side" of the road (Luke
10:32). The third fellow who came along had been raised in a culture
of highly-charged prejudice. Jews generally despised Samaritans, and
Samaritans felt the same toward Jews.
In this case, though, a natural enemy laid aside his prejudices to
help the victim. Jesus pointed to this as an example for us all: "Go
and do likewise" He said (Luke 10:37). This parable is a legitimate
contender in any contest for the most memorable story in the world.
But that's not the ultimate story in the Bible about an estranged
party helping the other. Paul speaks of that greatest of all examples
in Romans 5: "For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet
perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God
demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still
sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:7,8).
If you fail to grasp the gravity of our situation, consider what Paul
went on to say about the effect our sins have on our relationship with
God: "For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through
the death of His Son ..." (Romans 5:10). By committing sin -
something all of us do (Romans 3:23) - we alienate ourselves from God.
We become His enemies.
This beautiful truth reminds us, however, that God loves us so much
that He is willing to look past our hurtful actions in order to rescue
us. That's far better than any dog-and-kitten stories I've ever
heard!
Timothy D. Hall
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