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Parables
of the Pastor’s Cats
Not My Cat
She came to us as a gift,
along with two brothers. Kittens don't always adjust to new
surroundings quickly, and these were unsure about how they fit in to
our family.
And we were unsure about
them. Especially the dark one.
We started out by naming
her Max, though we should have
known that this would be a female. She has a calico marking, but all
mixed up. The colors blur together, giving her the look of a
black cat with indistinct highlights.
It's quite a look. She gets points for style, and for blending in with
the night.
At times she looked like a weasel, and once I mistook her for a possum.
I was standing there talking to a possum and thinking it was Max. Very
embarrassing.
So the cat started out with us in a kind of limbo, where we didn't know
who
she was, exactly, or how she would fit in.
But things changed. She grew out of her clumsy kitten phase and became
a graceful, beautiful cat. She glides across the lawn and rises up the
side of a tree like a wisp of smoke. She's a shadow.
More importantly, she's my shadow. She is often the first cat at my
side when I come out of the house. If I walk three steps in any
direction, she ranges out in front of me or paces along at my side.
And if we pause on a hike, she comes to my feet and looks up, expecting
to be picked up.
She's my cat.
She wasn't always. But she is now.
If you find the book of Hosea in the Old Testament, you will find the
story of an unreasonable love. Not in the way you might think. It is
the
story of a woman who is pursued by a husband who loves her more than
she can understand.
It is God's story, more than anything. Although the prophet Hosea lives
out this love affair in his own life, it is the story of God's love for
each of
us.
He loves more than we can
know.
He loves even when we can't find a reason. God apparently has reasons
of his own.
One of Hosea's children gets a chilling name. Call him Not My People, God tells the young
father. Not because of anything the infant had done. Just because that
was the story being played out in the lives of so many of Hosea's
neighbors.
They aren't my people, God sighed.
But there is hope. Hosea ran after an unfaithful wife to bring her
home where she would be loved.
My scary dark cat climbs into my arms and purrs, knowing that she has
an open invitation to climb up my jacket and perch on my shoulder,
because she is my cat.
And one day, those who were Not My
People will be called My
People, God says.
Feeling distant lately, as if you weren't anywhere close to God?
Want to change that?
God does, too.
(You can read God's promise in Hosea 2:23.)
Open my eyes so that I might see great and
wonderful things in your word.
Psalm 119:18
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