One summer Nancy and I spent a month house-sitting for our friends who were out of town. Actually, there was a little more to it than just watching the house. They had a mother cat with several kittens that we also cared for.
The mother cat was a hunter and often brought small animals that she had caught back to the house. The kittens were old enough to also begin venturing out into the world.
One day we discovered that one of the kittens was missing so we began searching everywhere for him. Even though we were not able to locate the missing kitten, we felt that he would eventually show up. After several hours, however, we began to worry and I decided to look beyond the backyard. I climbed over a steep railroad embankment and down the other side into an overgrown vacant lot. Searching through the tall weeds, I heard a faint, “mew, mew,” and eventually found the missing kitten. He was exhausted. He was hungry and thirsty. His little face was dirty and his fur was full of burs but he was safe. He had simply gone too far away from the house and was unable to find his way back.
When I remember that afternoon I am reminded somewhat of our relationship with God. As human beings, we at times are like the kitten and wander away from God. Sometimes we may go so far from him that it is hard to find the way back.
Fortunately, we have a God who does not give up, but rather continues to search for those of us who have wandered away. The Bible is filled with images that illustrate this characteristic of God—the lost sheep, the Good Shepherd, and the prodigal son, just to name a few. Writer John Stott described it well when he wrote: “The Bible reveals a God who, long before it even occurs to man to turn to him, while man is still lost in darkness and sunk in sin, takes the initiative, rises from his throne, lays aside his glory, and stoops to seek until he finds him.”
It is a great blessing to know that God will not give up. Like the father of the prodigal son, God is always searching in the distance, and always willing to receive back those, who like the kitten, have wandered far away from home.
-Phillip Eichman, Pike Road, Alabama
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