(AI generated image)
For whatever reason, I was born with a tender heart. At various times and on many occasions during my life it has been both burdensome and rewarding. It can be a target of teasing and bullying, it can allow for deeper sorrow, it can deepen friendships, and it can strengthen relationships. It also lends itself to cultivating a spirit of service which God is putting to work in my life.
And as you may guess, my compassion extends even toward the animal kingdom. Over the years, I have taken in various strays that I could neither find the home of nor a home for. These would mostly include escaped domestic rabbits, cats, and dogs.
I was recently pulling away from my house to leave for work when movement at the edge of the street caught my attention. It was a baby opossum. Not wanting to run it over, I put the car in park. I got out and found a stick hoping to encourage the little guy to move out of the danger of the street with as little uneasiness for both of us. As I approached him lying on the ground, I noticed that he turned slightly to face me by moving himself with his front legs only. His back legs were laid straight out behind him. He began to lay his ears back and bare his teeth until he rolled over hoping I'd think he was dead. I could see the fur around his front shoulders was damp and mussed as if he'd been in a dog's mouth, but there were no puncture marks and no blood. Looking up, I saw one of the neighborhood's wandering dogs, which may have been the culprit, trotting down the street with a toy in its mouth.
I returned to my car and got one of the work gloves I keep with my car's toolbox. I picked the little guy up by the tail, supported his front with the stick, and placed him at the base of a tree nearer my house away from the street. That was all I had time to do, so I left for work.
Some time after arriving at work, I checked my security camera that covers that portion of the yard and saw the little guy was gone. I replayed the recordings starting from the time I left, and there was nothing. He was simply gone. Had one of the local dogs entered the camera's field of view, its size would have triggered a recording if not on that camera, then on one of several others.
Only a few hours later, I had to return home before going to a routine dental appointment. I checked my property and there was no sign of the little guy. I checked the next morning and next afternoon, and still there was no sign of him. God has created animals incredibly hardy and resilient, so I hope that his injuries, if any, were minor enough for him to have climbed to safety and continued to recover.
Now, I can already hear the comments from some of you. They'd be something along the lines of: "Ewww. A opossum? Why would you care about a disgusting opossum?"
First, that's the nature of having a compassionate heart. If you know, you know.
Second, at creation, God placed man in dominion over the animal kingdom. That means that man was put in a position of authority to tend to, care for, and utilize the animals. It was not to be executed in cruelty or abuse for those are results of sinfulness. Our dominion was the be executed through goodness and wisdom. In fact, in a perfect world free of sin, the manner in which man was intended to care for animals is difficult to fully understand. Technically, that position of authority has never been rescinded.
Whoever is righteous has regard for the life of his beast, but the mercy of the wicked is cruel.
Proverbs 12:10
God doesn't dismiss them Himself. He covenanted with them for mankind's sake (Genesis 9:8-10); He takes notice of them (Matthew 10:29), He understands our connection with them (2 Samuel 12:3), and He uses the imagery of our relationship with Him as Shepherd and we as His flock (John 10:1-15) - which is a picture lesson. (These passages are listed at the end of this article)
Third, I have reached a point in my life and my Christian worldview that I simply hate suffering of any kind. Suffering came about because of sin entering the world through the rebellious disobedience by Adam and Eve.
For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God.
Romans 8:20-21
This freedom from sin and suffering will come when Christ returns, judges all people, and puts an end to all suffering, and creates a new heaven and new earth where there will be no more sorrow.
There will no longer be any curse; and the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and His bond-servants will serve Him
Revelation 22:3
Why would I care about a "disgusting opossum"? Because it is a creation of God's and subject to suffering because of this fallen creation. Why has creation fallen? Because of man's disobedience and the introduction of sin and death.
Apart from that, caring for an animal (even a opossum) is not wrong and it is not a weakness. In reality, it is also a picture lesson for us. If we, mankind, were put in position by God to care for the animals then how much more should we care for our fellow humans - who are created in the image of God - despite how they may look, live, act, or treat us?
Imagine if Jesus had tempered His compassion on us by how we look, live, act, or treat Him and others. There would be no salvation.
Jesus was asked, what is the greatest commandment.
And He said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ Upon these two commandments hang the whole Law and the Prophets.”
Matthew 22:37-40 [Luke 10:26-27]
In the account told by Luke, one of the teachers of the Law asked Jesus, "Who is my neighbor?" Jesus replied with a picture lesson known as the parable of the 'Good Samaritan'.
First, what was a Samaritan?
In 722 BC, when the Assyrians conquered the Northern Kingdom of Israel, it was renamed to Samaria after the capital city of northern Israel. The Assyrian king deported great numbers of the Israelites, and then moved people of other nationalities into Israel. Samaritans became a people of mixed ancestry. Then, more or less by design, the people became syncretic. [Syncretism is the mixing of various religious beliefs into a new belief system.]
In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria captured Samaria and led the people of Israel into exile to Assyria, and settled them in Halah and Habor, on the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes.
Then the king of Assyria brought people from Babylon, Cuthah, Avva, Hamath, and Sepharvaim, and settled them in the cities of Samaria in place of the sons of Israel. So they took possession of Samaria and lived in its cities.
Then the king of Assyria issued commands, saying, “Take one of the priests there whom you led into exile, and have him go and live there; and have him teach them the custom of the God of the land.” So one of the priests whom they had led into exile from Samaria came and lived in Bethel, and taught them how they were to fear the Lord. But every nation was still making gods of its own, and they put them in the houses of the high places which the people of Samaria had made, every nation in their cities in which they lived.
2 Kings 17:6, 24, 27-29
Before even the time of Christ, Jews and Samaritans held deep animosity for one another. Jews viewed the Samaritans as non Jewish because of their mixed heritage and would not let them help rebuild the temple after the Jews were freed from Babylonian captivity to return home to Southern Kingdom of Israel (Judah). As a result the Samaritans built their own temple, and the Jews then considered them pagan. Thus the surprise of the Samaritan woman at Jacob's well when Jesus, a Jewish rabbi, asked her for a drink of water.
In the parable of the good Samaritan, Jesus tells how a rabbi passed by the injured man without stopping. Rabbis were esteemed men that held sway in society and were the highest religious authority. Jesus then tells how a Levite passed by the injured man without stopping. Levites were esteemed religious men that performed subordinate tasks in the temple such as gatekeepers, musicians, guardians, officers, etc. Both of these highly esteemed and religious people lacked compassion.
Then along comes a Samaritan. The Samaritan felt compassion for the man. He medicated the man's wounds, bandaged him, put him up in an inn, cared for him that evening, and paid the innkeeper to continue his care with promise of returning to pay further debt. Placing the 'despicable' Samaritan as the compassionate hero of the story certainly would have not set well with Jesus' audience.
Having just answered what the greatest commandments were, and addressing the teacher of the Law's question, Jesus concludes the parable with a question Himself:
"Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell into the robbers’ hands?” And he said, “The one who showed compassion to him.” Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do the same.”
Luke 10:36-37
Jesus speaks elsewhere on treating others, and how in doing so you are mirroring our heavenly Father:
“But I say to you who hear, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who are abusive to you. Whoever hits you on the cheek, offer him the other also; and whoever takes away your cloak, do not withhold your tunic from him either. Give to everyone who asks of you, and whoever takes away what is yours, do not demand it back. Treat people the same way you want them to treat you. If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners in order to receive back the same amount. But love your enemies and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil people. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful."
Luke 6:27-36
We as believers are to be conformed into the likeness of Christ. By no means could anyone make a serious claim that Jesus was weak because of the compassion He expressed. He was compassionate and yet harnessed complete power. He was hated, despised, persecuted, physically broken, and ultimately allowed Himself to die a horrible death out of His compassion for us sinners who could not rescue ourselves.
Some of us hate suffering and death (even of animals) because we see all suffering as a result of sin entering the world. Sin is what separates us from God, and death itself is said to be an enemy of God (1 Corinthians 15:26). We despise sin's effects; we hate sin because God hates sin; and we anxiously long for the time when God puts an end to sin and all of its affects and restores all of creation to what His original intent was to be.
Because suffering is such a part of life, it is easy to become accepting of it and numb to it. I get it. We do that with a lot of things in life. But is that always a good thing? No. We can even become accepting of and numb to sin itself if we aren't vigilant and conscious.
Keep looking forward to the restoration of all things, and until that day comes, show compassion.
"Go and do the same."
(Even with baby opossums.)
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Clarification: Don't misunderstand. I'm not what one would consider a "bleeding heart" or an animal rights activist. While I do believe in treating animals well, I don't oppose hunting, fishing, or animal husbandry. I enjoy good hamburgers, venison steaks, honey-glazed hams, Chic-Fil-A, and catfish fillets a often as I can. My issue is with sin-induced suffering at large.
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Then God spoke to Noah and to his sons with him, saying, “Now behold, I Myself am establishing My covenant with you, and with your descendants after you; and with every living creature that is with you: the birds, the livestock, and every animal of the earth with you; of all that comes out of the ark, every animal of the earth.
Genesis 8:9-10
Are two sparrows not sold for an assarion? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father.
Matthew 10:29
But the poor man had nothing at all except one little ewe lamb which he bought and nurtured;
and it grew up together with him and his children. It would eat scraps from him and drink from his cup and lie in his lap, and was like a daughter to him.
2 Samuel 12:3
“Truly, truly I say to you, the one who does not enter by the door into the fold of the sheep, but climbs up some other way, he is a thief and a robber. But the one who enters by the door is a shepherd of the sheep. To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep listen to his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he puts all his own sheep outside, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. However, a stranger they simply will not follow, but will flee from him, because they do not know the voice of strangers.” Jesus told them this figure of speech, but they did not understand what the things which He was saying to them meant. So Jesus said to them again, “Truly, truly I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All those who came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came so that they would have life, and have it abundantly. I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep. He who is a hired hand, and not a shepherd, who is not the owner of the sheep, sees the wolf coming, and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf snatches them and scatters the flock. He flees because he is a hired hand and does not care about the sheep. I am the good shepherd, and I know My own, and My own know Me, just as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep.
John 10:1-15
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