Pets and Redemption

I think most of us out there have a heart for animals. I know that I do. Right now as I am writing, my 12 year old Sheltie "Rocky" is curled up by the fireplace trying to get to sleep. Rocky has been my pal for over half of my life now. He's been my playmate, my friend on walks, occasionally my teddy bear, and always excited to see me when I get home. While I'm not one of those crazy dog owners who is nuts about dogs, I think there is something in the bond bewteen a pet and an owner that speaks to our need for the gospel.

Before sin entered the world, animals and man were said to exist in peace with one another, so much so that all the animals obeyed Adam as he named them. Once sin entered the world, the gospel tells us, the natural order changed. Death and decay and predation became the way that things were. After Noah stepped off the ark, God solidified a new relationship between man and beast:

"The fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth and upon every bird of the heavens, upon everything that creeps on the ground and all the fish of the sea. Into your hand they are delivered."Genesis 9:2, ESV

No longer did animals and man co-exist peacefully. Rather, they ran in fear from us and no longer obeyed us. This verse explains today why wild animals are always afraid of us. Because the dominion of sin is now present, the natural order between man and creation has been distorted. Man, God's vice-regent over the world, has lost some of his power and control over creation.

But through Christ, man's place as governor of creation is restored. Speaking of redemption, Isaiah says:

"The wolf shall dwell with the lamb,and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat,and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together; and a little child shall lead them." Isaiah 11:6, ESV

This, of course, is the natural result of salvation through Jesus, who sets aright the world and brings peace to it (Is. 11:1-5). When we are fully restored and redeemed and creation is made new, one of the simple results will be the peaceful co-existence of man and beast. Animals will obey us and not shy away from us or our dominion.

I don't bring this up to suggest that pets are really all that important to the gospel. I bring this up to say that perhaps thats why a lot of us like pets so much. If you think about it, it's really not all that natural for a canine or a feline to share a roof with humans. It's even more unnatural that they obey our commands. But this is in fact very natural in a sinless and redeemed world. For some of us, living with a dog or cat, whether we know it or not, is a subtle reminder of the glories of a New Heaven and New Earth that we will one day partake in. Through it we retain just a little reminder of what it is like when the world is as it should be through Christ. It is perhaps just a little tatse of a new world order made possible through redemption. Now I know that this is a bit of a stretch and pets in no way bring us closer to God or make us more spiritual. But I do think that they might be one of God's common graces that point us heavenward to a world that is soon coming. And this points us not to earthly things, but to Christ, who gives us so much more. We would do well to remember that.