2005-08-22 - Kittens

Originally Published 2001-10-29

Luke 19:10 For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.

One of my cats had kittens a couple of weeks ago. Besides being cute there are some other things about them that I have noticed. One thing that is abundantly clear is their total dependence upon their mom for care and their inability to do anything to care for themselves. They are really helpless creatures and if left to themselves they would simply die.

It is no different with us. We come to God helpless to save ourselves. We come to God needy. We come to God in total dependence upon Him. We come knowing that the wages of sin is death, but also knowing the second half of that verse, "but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 6:23 Just as the cats don't offer anything to their mom that would make her want to care for them, we offer nothing to God that would make Him love us. But as the mother cat loves and cares for her kittens, so also God loves us and cares for us. He even offers much more and we can only be grateful receivers of His abundant mercy, Titus 3:5

Do you remember the story of the Pharisee and the Publican in Luke 18:9-14? The Pharisee was all about how good he was and how much he had to offer to God by his goodness. In his prayer he even thanked God that he wasn't like other people, but rather he fasted and gave money away. It was all about what he did. It was all about his works and not his need for a work in his life from God.

The Publican was quite different. His prayer was all about his need for help from God. All he could do was beat his breast and cry, "God be merciful to me, the sinner!" Christ has a telling comment about these two men. He says of the Publican, in verse 14, "I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself shall be humbled, but he who humbles himself shall be exalted."

It is sad how we can lose sight of this in our lives. Our world tells us that, "it is all about us." Nothing is ever all about us. Anything we have, we have been given and anything good that we bring to God, rather than winning His love, is simply done in response to the love He has already shown us. Like my cute little kittens we are needy people. This ought to drive us to prayer that we might implore the God of love to give us more of his race and increase our understanding of His mercy.

"If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it shall be done for you." John 15:7

Soli Deo Gloria,
T-

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