Attacked by Wolves
George Lane being attacked by a wolf
George Lane was ecstatic. He had just witnessed the birth of his first child in
Calgary, Alberta, and in his excitement, he celebrated the event for several
days. He even invited all of his friends over to meet his wonder child.
But all good things must come to an end, and George's job soon called him back
to reality. He was responsible for the cattle at the Bar U Ranch, a job he took
very seriously. Nonetheless, it was with regret that he mounted his faithful
horse, and leaving behind his beloved wife and newborn baby in their Calgary
home, he headed back for the ranch.
He had reached the foothills of the Rocky Mountains by sundown, just in time to
disturb a pack of six hungry wolves feasting on the carcass of a cow they had
obviously killed. This wasn't the first time he had ridden upon such a scene,
and George knew it wouldn't be the last, but what infuriated him was the fact
that the wolves seemed to view domestic cattle as their own, personal prey.
Of course, this all made perfect sense to the wolf. In past years they had fed
off of buffalo herds and left the domestic cattle alone. But now buffalo
herds were gone, and being living, carnivorous creatures requiring sustenance,
beef was their only option. Surely they had the right to feed themselves. Why
was this white man getting so upset at them for eating?
George watched them for a brief moment before drawing his six-shooter. Then he
charged his horse into the middle of the dinner party. Before he could shoot
however, a huge, shaggy beast turned on him and his horse, attacking them
viciously.
It was the first time such an encounter between white man and wolf had been
recorded in history, and if it hadn't been for his six-shooter, George would
have become the banquet's dessert. It's true that human flesh supposedly tastes
like sweet pork, but who would like to be compared to a pig, no matter how sweet
they may be?
Once reported, the attack was of significant concern to the people of Alberta,
and especially to its legislature. With the wolves regularly raiding cattle
ranches, they already had a monumental problem on their hands, one that didn't
seem to have any simple solution. What if wolves were to now begin attacking
humans as well? There were no ways to bring these nasty creatures to justice, no
way to make a public warning out of them to other wolves, and if things didn't
change, the public would start to turn their backs on the current body of
elected politicians!
This imbalance of nature had been created by the government itself. In an
attempt to subdue the Indians, the decision had been made during the 1870s to
exterminate buffalo herds (See Look Out, Buffalo! White Man is Coming). But
since the buffalo was also the primary food source of the wolf, the white man was
now faced with the terrifying consequences. There seemed to only be one
solution: To exterminate the wolf population as well!
This episode illustrates vividly how sin ravages our reasoning skills. The more
we let sin entice us, the more selfish we become. And the more selfish we become, the more we make others miserable. James 1:14-15 tells us: "Each one is
tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then,
after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is
full-grown, gives birth to death." (NIV)
The only way to really make a difference in this world is by letting ourselves
be set free from the traps and deceptions of sin. This can only be done by the
one who willingly died for our sins. Paul says that Jesus willingly became sin
in order for us to be set free: "Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no
sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God."
(2 Cor 5:20-21 NIV); and "But now that you have been set free from sin and have
become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is
eternal life." (Rom 6:22 NIV)
Freedom and eternity can be ours, if we accept Jesus' offer and welcome Him into
our lives.
Ravenous wolves? No problem! I have their dinner fixed. Nothing to be afraid of!
Rob Chaffart