My daughter, Madison (Mattie), has a cat named Matty.\u00a0 Believe it or not, he had that name when she adopted him from an animal shelter. At least their names were spelled differently.<\/p>\n
Matty is old and feeble. He\u2019s had a stroke, sheds excessively, walks crooked, misses the litter box, can\u2019t see well and has a hard time moving at all but, he loves Mattie a lot and she loves him. \u00a0I can\u2019t say that I dislike Matty but I haven\u2019t grown attached to him either. With my own house full of animals, I\u2019ve historically avoided the hair, smell and poop associated with this little bundle of fur.<\/p>\n
Until a month ago when Madison left for 3 months of Bible School.<\/p>\n
I always knew that we\u2019d be taking care of her precious friend while she was gone but I didn\u2019t think much of it. I mean, we\u2019ve watched all of our girls\u2019 animals at one time or another but now that we\u2019ve had Matty for almost a month, I\u2019ve noticed that life has changed more than it did with the others. I seem to plan my days around him and I\u2019ve become very protective of him even though my nose itches all the time. I\u2019m changing litter constantly, washing towels that have been peed on, sitting in the room when I read\/study\/write so I can pet him, buying soft cat food for a treat each day and taking him outside for \u201cfieldtrips\u201d through my flower beds.\u00a0 For a woman that never really liked cats, this is peculiar. As I sat on Madison\u2019s bed this morning reading my Bible and scratching Matty\u2019s head, I had a tiny revelation as to why all this has happened.<\/p>\n
Because of love. I love this cat because I love his owner.\u00a0 What matters to my daughter matters to me and I want to protect it and care for it because that honors the one I love.\u00a0 However, although love is a powerful motivator, it isn\u2019t always enough to change our actions so drastically.\u00a0 As I mentioned, I\u2019ve watched other animals that my kids have loved and, although I didn\u2019t neglect them by any means, I didn\u2019t dote on them in this way. It seems that the difference has to do with my sense of urgency towards the responsibility that I\u2019ve been given.<\/p>\n
You see, Matty has been with my baby girl through some horribly dark years.\u00a0 When she felt lost, he was nibbling on her fingers in the middle of the night reminding her that she was needed and he was hungry. When she felt alone, He was laying on her head and purring just because he wanted to be close to her and because he loved her. \u00a0My unemotional daughter has a soft spot for this furry old man that she saved from a cage 4 years ago.\u00a0 So much so that when she left for school, I was shocked when she started to cry.\u00a0 Turns out, she believes their time is short. He\u2019s lived a long life and is very \u201cbroken,” as she puts it.\u00a0 She\u2019s afraid that she won\u2019t make it home before he passes away and it\u2019s breaking her heart. \u00a0And mine.<\/p>\n
A week after Madison left, I woke up to find Matty was having difficulty walking so I immediately called the vet and took him in.\u00a0 They weren\u2019t sure if it was just arthritis or another stroke so they sent me home with some medicine and instructions to call if he got worse.\u00a0 I suddenly felt an urgency to take care of this cat like he was a king.\u00a0 To show him love and make him feel happy in the hopes that he\u2019d still be here in 2 and a half months. \u00a0I felt an urgency to do all I could so that Madison can see her little fur ball again when she gets home. It\u2019s not an obligation, it\u2019s a joyful choice that I\u2019m making, each day because I love her and I want what she wants\u2026a hope and future to be with her precious pet.<\/p>\n
How much more am I called to love and treasure people?\u00a0 How much more does God love people?\u00a0 All people. Even those who aren\u2019t easy to love. Kind of like Matty was hard to love until I began to see him through the eyes of Madison\u2019s love. Suddenly, the mess and smells and inconveniences were a chance to express my love for Madison by loving him.<\/p>\n
The words of Jesus took on a new light as I read them this morning with my new furry friend in my lap.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/em>\u201cThis is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.<\/em>\u00a0<\/sup><\/em><\/strong>Greater love has no one than this,\u00a0that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are\u00a0my friends\u00a0if you do what I command you.\u201d<\/strong> \u00a0<\/em>John 15:12-13 (ESV)<\/p>\n So what 4 things are spelled out in these 3 short lines?<\/p>\n What a call! What a life purpose. So many of us are searching for a deeper meaning in our lives when Jesus tells us all throughout the New Testament that this is it.\u00a0 A purpose worth giving our lives for and yet, we often ignore it, justify it, redefine it or dilute it.\u00a0 But, think about it.\u00a0 Jesus said, \u201cLove the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and most important command. The second is like it; \u00a0Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets depend on these two commands.\u201d <\/strong>Matthew 22:37-40 (CSB) \u00a0That\u2019s a pretty strong statement coming from God himself and a pretty clear command.\u00a0 But do I do it? Do you? Do we as the Church?<\/p>\n When people hate us, disagree with us or even hate the things we love, do we still show them love?\u00a0 Does God still love them? Do their souls matter to Him?\u00a0 Does the command \u201cLove your enemies. Pray for those who persecute you,\u201d still apply? (Matt. 5:44)<\/p>\n It\u2019s worth thinking about.\u00a0 It\u2019s worth asking ourselves, \u201cHow do I show love? Who do I really have a hard time with and how can I show love to that person? How can I lay down my life in love \u00a0to show Jesus how much He means to me? How can I treat people in a way that \u00a0draws their heart \u00a0closer to His heart?\u201d\u00a0 More than likely, our answers aren\u2019t as shiny and selfless as we\u2019d like them to be but this is as good a time as any to change that.\u00a0 It\u2019s always a good time to show God how much we love Him by loving others. It\u2019s urgent.\u00a0 Time is short. People are hurting and the church isn\u2019t always seen as the place for healing, acceptance and love anymore.\u00a0 We can change that.\u00a0 We should want to change that.\u00a0 Desperately.\u00a0 Because we have so much to be thankful for and so much love to share if we can only tap into the depths of that love.<\/p>\n We may or may not have more than 2 \u00bd months left to love on people before Jesus comes back.\u00a0We tend to think that we do but there\u2019s no guarantee.\u00a0 Let\u2019s treasure what he treasures and love what he loves with everything in us so that when He comes, we can stand before him, smiles on our faces, because we\u2019ve shown Him how much we love Him by truly loving the people that He loves. And they\u2019ve felt it.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Scripture quotations marked CSB have been taken from the Christian Standard Bible\u00ae, Copyright \u00a9 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible\u00ae and CSB\u00ae are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" My daughter, Madison (Mattie), has a cat named Matty.\u00a0 Believe it or not, he had that name when she adopted him from an animal shelter. At least their names were spelled differently. Matty is old and feeble. 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