Although the Ragdoll race of cats was cultivated from alley cats (See
From Siam to Rags),
before we could bring our kitten home we had to sign a contract that she would
always be kept as a house cat and that we would never let her roam by herself
outside. Why? Because, Ragdolls have no idea what the word "enemy" means. They
only know how to love unconditionally. They have no clue how to defend
themselves! Our kitten, Roxy, never even once uses her claws--except to sharpen
them, which she usually does on our entry mat.
One day we were out walking with our Golden Retriever, Salida, and with Roxy
(Yes, she does walk on a leash), when Salida began barking. Now Salida doesn't
bark! But there she was, bounding up into the air and barking. Puzzled, we
looked up at the sky just in time to see a bird flying off. It was a hawk who
had, apparently, been circling us overhead. And why not? It had spotted an easy
prey for dinner: a woolly ball of fur walking on a leash! Yum! Had it not been
for doggy sister, Roxy might have become cat food before she even knew it.
But as she looked up at that bird, now flying away, Roxy wanted to play with it.
She didn't even realizing that it could have hurt her.
We, as Christians, are also encouraged to love unconditionally, but more often
than not we fall short of this command. Too often we look at others with
indifference, or even worse, as the enemy. Is it possible that we are too
focused on ourselves instead of others?
The apostle John is quite clear on this subject and he urgently encourages us to
personally become acquainted with what love truly means: "My beloved friends,
let us continue to love each other since love comes from God. Everyone who loves
is born of God and experiences a relationship with God. The person who refuses
to love doesn't know the first thing about God, because God is love - so you
can't know him if you don't love. This is how God showed his love for us: God
sent his only Son into the world so we might live through him. This is the kind
of love we are talking about - not that we once upon a time loved God, but that
he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to clear away our sins and the
damage they've done to our relationship with God. My dear, dear friends, if God
loved us like this, we certainly ought to love each other. No one has seen God,
ever. But if we love one another, God dwells deeply within us, and his love
becomes complete in us - perfect love!" (1 John 4:7-12 The Message)
Besides not always knowing how to truly love, we Christians have the tendency to
forget that we have an arch enemy, one who will do anything to destroy us. How
much easier life would be if we were always prepared for him, if we were to put
on our spiritual armament as the apostle Paul encourages us to do (See Ephesians
6:10-18)! How can we even have a chance at survival when we don't even know we
are under attack (Discouragement is his number one weapon of choice!)? A soldier
would die quickly in such conditions!
"Keep a cool head. Stay alert. The Devil is poised to pounce, and would like
nothing better than to catch you napping. Keep your guard up. You're not the
only ones plunged into these hard times. It's the same with Christians all over
the world. So keep a firm grip on the faith. The suffering won't last forever.
It won't be long before this generous God who has great plans for us in Christ -
eternal and glorious plans they are! - will have you put together and on your
feet for good. He gets the last word; yes, he does." (1 Peter 5:8-11 The
Message)
Only if we stay under the protection of God's Spirit, only if we learn to listen
to His voice, will we be made aware of the planned assaults on our soul. Just
like Salida was watching over her kitten sister, God's Holy Spirit is watching
over us and will chase away the enemy of our soul. But only if we let Him.
It is time we learn how to love. But we also need to recognize the attacks of
the devil and we need to remember to rely on God's Spirit to help us in these
cases. We are not defenseless with God at our side! He will reveal to us what
love truly means. Let us just look at the cross for revival!
Rob Chaffart
The Illustrator: This daily newsletter is dedicated to encouraging
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