Almost everyone has lost a
beloved pet. They become part of the family. I remember my first dog. I
suppose I was 8 or 9 when Princess, a beautiful black and white cocker spaniel,
became part of our family. I can’t account for it, but we apparently kept her
outside, since I don’t remember our little pooch residing in the house with us.
Unfortunately,
Princess had a tendency to chase the motorized vehicles which came and went
down a street not far from where I stand tonight; Formosa Avenue. And on such
and such a day, she decided to run down a dump truck which was lumbering by our
home at that moment. It is a foregone conclusion. The dump truck won. My
friends, though over six decades have come and gone since I lost my precious
Princess, I can still tear up when I think of her.
So,
what happens to pets after they die? Do they go to heaven? Will we
ever see our dearly departed pets again? What, after all, is their
fate? What does the Bible say about animals after they die? These
precious beloved animals include dogs, cats, horses, and even a few unorthodox
pets that families have grown to love and grieve after they are gone.
What does the Word of God say about whether or not we will see our pets
again?
The
Bible is clear that babies and young children who die before they are able to
accept Jesus Christ as Savior go directly into the presence of the Lord.
When a parent loses a child, they can be comforted with this fact, but this does not mean
that they will not grieve for them. The same is true of our
pets. They are part of the family. We treat them like our own
children.
Many
elderly couples and those who have had a spouse die are left only with their
pets, and an animal’s companionship has sustained them through many lonely days
and long nights. A pet’s love is completely
unconditional. They don’t care what your day was like, what went
wrong
at work, what your mood is when you come home. They are always ready to
jump up into your lap and are so full of joy at seeing you that they display
this love in their actions. How often I have come home from a hard day at
work only to have my beloved dog run with joy to greet me.
Our
dearly departed Buddy, a white Shih Tzu, seemed to intuitively know when my
wife would arrive home from her nursing duties at the Rohr Home; a few hundred
yards from this church. Buddy just seemed to have a inner clock, and at about
11:20pm she would toddle over to the front door, and sometimes peer between the
curtains of our picture window. Within minutes Jean would walk in the door.
There is a
curious verse in the Old Testament.
“You
preserve mankind and animals, alike.” (Psalm 36:6)
One
interpretation of the verse is that not only will mankind and animals co-exist
on the new earth, but that they will also live together in heaven.
I especially
like the passage in the New Testament.
“Aren’t five
sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet, not one of them has been forgotten by your
heavenly Father.” (Luke
12:6)
My earthly
father was an exterminator. I suppose in the course of his thirty years in the
business he killed off multiplied millions of rats, cockroaches, spiders and
termites. (And speaking of their eternal destinies, I
cringe at the thought that a multiplicity of these unhappy vermin might have
greeted my dad when he walked through the pearly gates)! As a result, I think
we can (conveniently) exclude roaches and rats from any consideration of
eternal life.
Perhaps the
most convincing of all scriptures which supports the presence of animals in
God’s kingdom is found in the Book of Isaiah.
“The
wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf
and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them. The
cow will feed with the bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion
will eat straw like the ox. The infant will play near the cobra’s den, the
young child will put its hand into the viper’s nest. They will neither harm nor
destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be filled with the
knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.” (Isaiah 11:6-9)
Perhaps
I think too much, and perhaps I am too sensitive, but at times I have reflected
on what the turkey, or hamburger, or steak looked like long before I stuffed
them in my salivating mouth, (while they lived, and moved, and breathed), and
the regrettable fate of the birds of the pen, and the cows of the pasture. I
mean, the majority of us would no more participate in the slaughter of one of
these creatures, than we would walk barefoot across the Sahara Desert. (Of
course, we don’t mind devouring the final product; after we take it out of the
oven).
At any rate, like C.S. Lewis (and I certainly don’t put myself in
a league with him) I am convinced that animals will inhabit the new heavens and
the new earth, and more importantly to me, I am convinced that I will see my
deceased pets again one day.
Oh, how I loved Princess, Buddy and Lucy, as well as Queenie who
is still with us, a couple of cats named Tom and Night, and an
unnamed squirrel monkey which escaped from his cage when I was a teen.
And I think, no I feel certain, that I will see this menagerie of
creatures on the other side of this life.
On a rather light, or morbid note, (depending on your particular mindset)
having considered ‘permatizing’ my pooch, I once looked over at Buddy, and
asked,
“Buddy, would you like to be freeze dried when you die?”
And I kid you not, my furry friend responded with the most contentious look I had ever witnessed on her canine countenance. But to be sure, I’m convinced that we will see our pets again. At least, I have asked our heavenly Father for the favor of their eternal presence next to me.
Can it be sixty years since that black & white Cocker Spaniel, Princess, graced my life? And with the passing of decades, Buddy, and Lucy, and Queenie filled the successive emptiness left by the one before.
And of course, as each went “the way of all flesh” I expected the obligatory wait ‘til I would see any, or all of them again.
But, have you heard the old adage,
…“There’s always an exception to the rule.” (?)
I was heartbroken when my Buddy crossed the so-called Rainbow Bridge.
“Buddy, would you like to be freeze dried when you die?”
And I kid you not, my furry friend responded with the most contentious look I had ever witnessed on her canine countenance. But to be sure, I’m convinced that we will see our pets again. At least, I have asked our heavenly Father for the favor of their eternal presence next to me.
Can it be sixty years since that black & white Cocker Spaniel, Princess, graced my life? And with the passing of decades, Buddy, and Lucy, and Queenie filled the successive emptiness left by the one before.
And of course, as each went “the way of all flesh” I expected the obligatory wait ‘til I would see any, or all of them again.
But, have you heard the old adage,
…“There’s always an exception to the rule.” (?)
I was heartbroken when my Buddy crossed the so-called Rainbow Bridge.
I was nearing 60, and I
found myself coping with a loss with which I hadn’t contended in half a
century. The demise of a beloved pet. The tears came, and continued to come hot
and heavy, as they had when my little Princess had gone on to her reward.
I don’t exactly know what I believe about “visitations from the great beyond;” (except the admonition of scripture that we refrain from ‘following after’ such things). I can only bear witness to the unique experiences which were mine, (and mine alone) after my little Buddy left the scene, and the resulting perspective that God can do anything He “jolly well chooses” to do.
It had been, at the most, a few days since Buddy “gave up the ghost” and my emotions were as raw as the day she left us. My furry friend and I had slept in the same bed for years, and there was no one to complain about the arrangement, as my wife had long since “taken up residence” in her own bedroom; due to her work as a shift nurse.
My little Buddy had her own pillow at the foot of the bed. (And I’m not ashamed to admit that after her demise I still keep a token pillow at the end of my bed).
I don’t exactly know what I believe about “visitations from the great beyond;” (except the admonition of scripture that we refrain from ‘following after’ such things). I can only bear witness to the unique experiences which were mine, (and mine alone) after my little Buddy left the scene, and the resulting perspective that God can do anything He “jolly well chooses” to do.
It had been, at the most, a few days since Buddy “gave up the ghost” and my emotions were as raw as the day she left us. My furry friend and I had slept in the same bed for years, and there was no one to complain about the arrangement, as my wife had long since “taken up residence” in her own bedroom; due to her work as a shift nurse.
My little Buddy had her own pillow at the foot of the bed. (And I’m not ashamed to admit that after her demise I still keep a token pillow at the end of my bed).
At any rate, after I resorted to my bedroom one night, and the combination of
weariness and grief overcame my wakefulness, I experienced something completely
unexpected, and unbidden.
…Breathing
Or at least the sensation of something up against my right shoulder, and that something was
…Breathing
Or at least the sensation of something up against my right shoulder, and that something was
…Respiring.
To be sure, no audible sound escaped the lungs of whatever lay next to me. Only
the physical sensation of something breathing in and out, in and out as this
non-descript thing lay hard against my shoulder.
And as you might well imagine, several seconds transpired before I conjured up the wherewithal to look. I mean, by this time I was all too aware that I, and I, alone should be the only entity filling up the 65 square foot rectangular surface upon which I resided.
Ultimately, I turned to look.
And what greeted my eyes was,
… absolutely nothing.
And as you might well imagine, several seconds transpired before I conjured up the wherewithal to look. I mean, by this time I was all too aware that I, and I, alone should be the only entity filling up the 65 square foot rectangular surface upon which I resided.
Ultimately, I turned to look.
And what greeted my eyes was,
… absolutely nothing.
And when it was all said and done, what do I believe occurred that
night? I believe that this ethereal manifestation was simply God’s grace, and
assurance to me that I would see my little Buddy again, that she and the other
dear creatures I have lost are happy and healthy and waiting for me on the
other side of this life.
And in regard to this assurance, the back cover of the only volume
I have thus far published contains the following words, and which speaks to my
first few moments in heaven.
“But perhaps our Savior will smile, and beckon with His hand, as if to say, ‘Well, Bill there they are. What are you waiting for? There’s fields, and flowers and trees aplenty. Go for it. Romp and run and carry on. Love those wonderful little puppies of yours for all you’re worth.’
“And with this I’ll turn and my four most favorite creatures will be
looking up at me expectantly; eyes shining, ears twitching and
tails wagging. With this, my heart will skip a few beats, and I’ll scoop them
up into my arms, and they will rest contentedly against my shoulders.
“And best of all…we’ll remember one another, and the love we knew will be undimmed, and stronger for the years we were apart.”
However, a more crucial and serious question than whether our pets will be in heaven presents itself.
Jack Wellman, in his article, “Do Pets Go to Heaven” concluded with the following admonition:
“The crucial thing is whether you, my reader, will be in heaven. It is pointless to ponder the question of whether your pet will be in heaven, if you, yourself are not there. The only way to be sure is to make certain you go there.
“Decide today to accept
Jesus Christ as your Savior, and have the full assurance that you will go to
heaven, and receive eternal life. As for your pets being in heaven or
not, the only way to find out is to go there yourself. That is my prayer
for you.”
by William McDonald, PhD. Excerpt from "Wednesday Night Sermons" series. Copyright pending
If you would like to copy, share or save, please include the credit line, above
by William McDonald, PhD. Excerpt from "Wednesday Night Sermons" series. Copyright pending
If you would like to copy, share or save, please include the credit line, above
No comments:
Post a Comment