I post this at REAL Men RoCK blog.
As I began to write this post my cat Figgy was in our basement suffering from CRF, which means his kidneys are failing. I know in a few days I will have to make the trip to the Vet to have him put to sleep. I can't describe the pain I feel because Figgy has been the most loving cat I have ever been around.
About four years ago we decided to get a cat to replace, Princess, the one I had for 14 years who died three years earlier. We drove to Wayside Waifs one of our local animal shelters and sat looking at the cats. We had them bring us a couple and Figgy was the last one. He instantly walked onto my lap and stretched out and bumped his head against my chin. His fur was soft and he purrrrred real heavy. He choose us and we gladly accepted his choosing.
Those of you who know me and my story know that for almost forty years I was a man who had a heart of gold that was encased in solid rock. I truly cared about people and God's creation but because of events in my life I would not allow my heart to feel. I suffered two divorces and detachment from my son because of my fear of closeness.
I began writing this post several days ago now here I am crying like a baby over what I am going to have to do this afternoon. It will be a hard drive to our vet's office and even harder as I sit holding Figgy as he dies.
You might be sitting wondering what this has to do with God. I hope to explain the connection by the following.
Did you know we can cause God to grieve? I found the following at www.gotquestions.org:
To understand what it means to grieve the Spirit, we must first understand that this indicates the Spirit possesses personality. Only a person can be grieved; therefore, the Spirit must be a divine person in order to have this emotion. Once we understand this, we can better understand how He is grieved, mainly because we too are grieved. Ephesians 4:30 tells us that we should not grieve the Spirit. We grieve the Spirit by living like the pagans (4:17-19), by lying (4:25), by being angry (4:26-27), by stealing (4:28), by cursing (4:29), by being bitter (4:31), by being unforgiving (4:32), and by being sexually immoral (5:3-5). To grieve the Spirit is to act out in a sinful manner, whether it is in thought only or in both thought and deed.
God grieves when we choose to reject Him and go our own way. God grieves when a follower of Jesus stumbles and turns back to sin. God grieves over His creation whether human or nature. The pain I feel right now is nothing compared to what God feels when we turn away from Him. He grieves when He watches us head for certain destruction and death by loving sin more than Him.
If I could I would heal Figgy and give him life. But I can't. God does have the power to heal any wound you might have. He can heal any sickness or disease. He can heal the broken heart. He can restore marriages, finances, security or whatever else we suffer from.
The last four days Figgy has refused to eat or drink. With each refusal I felt great pain that he was giving up on life. He was doing that because of the pain involved in eating and drinking. His body was shutting down and the more he ate or drank the more pain he was in. I think we humans sometimes do similar acts. We refuse the food found in the Bible has to offer and the water the Holy Spirit wants to pour over us. We do so because of the wounds of life that causes us to fear trusting in a being we can't see. God grieves when we reject His food and drink. He grieves because He knows that rejection leads to death and unfulfilled lives. He grieves because His desire is for us to share eternity with Him.
The good news is found in one of the best known scriptures John 3: 16
16-18"This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. God didn't go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again. Anyone who trusts in him is acquitted; anyone who refuses to trust him has long since been under the death sentence without knowing it. And why? Because of that person's failure to believe in the one-of-a-kind Son of God when introduced to him."
I do not care what you have done, what gods you have worshipped, what attitudes you have had, or that you have rejected God before I believe God has His arms open ready to forgive you. His desire is for you to LIVE not die. But...it is up to you to make the choice to turn away from your own way and toward Him. He will not force life on you but He gladly gives it to you.
I love my cat, Figgy, and I am heart broken that I have to put him to sleep. What I feel for my cat is nothing in comparison to what God feels when His creation especially mankind is being destroyed. The Good News is God loves YOU more than we can ever love anything!
Four days ago as I began thinking about having to put Figgy to sleep and I was convicted by the Holy Spirit about something else. I am grieving over my cat and I know that God grieves over us but do I truly grieve like God does over the lost, the wounded, the hurting, the imprisoned, the hungry, and the SINNER? Do I feel the same sadness for them that I feel for my cat? Do I have the same urgency to relief their pain and suffering as I do for Figgy? If I did I would watch less television, play on the computer less and get off my butt and roll up my sleeves and get my hands dirty in the lives of others. I have to confess that I have work to do and I am thankful that the Holy Spirit has revealed that through my cat, Figgy.
