The other night leaving the gym, a cat ran out in the road and I almost hit it. Worried that someone else would, I pulled over thinking I would take the cat to an animal shelter or at least somewhere safer than a busy road at night. I was all ready to pop out of my car, open my arms to the cat, and have it run up to me for pets with undying gratitude. What I got was twenty minutes of wandering around a parking lot, trying to reach for a cat that was perpetually ten feet out of reach.
Every time I thought I’d convinced the cat to come closer it would suddenly startle and back away again. Nothing I did could convince it that I was there to help and just wanted the best for it. After a lot of coaxing and cajoling I was no closer to getting ahold of that cat. And all at once the cat decided it was better off on its own and ran off into the dark. Defeated and a little grumpy, I got back in my car and headed home.
Maybe it’s weird that this is the connection I made, but I was suddenly struck by the theological significance of the stray cat.
There I was trying my hardest to convince a creature I cared about to trust me to get it out of danger, but instead of trusting and coming to me the same creature just kept running off. I didn’t need to be a genius to see the similarity.
I am the cat. We are the cat. God wants to save us so badly and we keep running off into the dark.
We so often fall into the mistaken belief that God is just furious with us for our sins. And while God’s anger towards sin is a sobering reality, it’s hardly the whole story. More overwhelmingly, his attitude towards us is one of longing. He wants us back. He wants to take us in out of the cold and dark. He’s crouched down in the dark, like I was with that cat, calling to us because he wants to make us safe. Is he happy we got ourselves into such a mess in the first place? Nope. Is he still determined to get us back to safety? Yep.
Every part of the Bible’s story arch is filled with his longing for us to come back home. From the moment he had to send Adam and Eve from the garden, he was planning a way to bring his creation back home to him. We see that in Genesis when God tells the serpent that while his damage will be great he is doomed to fail. His head will be crushed. And we see that time and time again until Jesus arrives with a world shaking message of hope. God is always calling us out of the dark, busy road we’ve wandered into.
The biggest difference between me and the cat and God and us? God is never going to get back into the car and drive away. He will stay out all night calling to you, no matter how far you run in fear. He will still be there calling you out of the dark to safety.
God’s love is eternal whether or not we accept it. He will not give up on you no matter how long you run from him. He wants you no matter how much work it is to rescue you. You are that worth it to him. Human history is drenched in horror and wrongdoing, yes, but overall if that it is covered in God’s unending, never-leaving love.
Be encouraged, Christian. You are never alone in the dark.
Let’s find some joy,
A
Avalon Robinson Author 